Prep Football: Roseburg steamrolls South Eugene 49-0, ends 5-game skid
The Roseburg Indians burst out of the gates and dominated the first half of a Class 5A Special District 4 contest against South Eugene on the way to a 49-0 victory on homecoming night Friday at Finlay Field.
Drea Burwell scored three rushing touchdowns and the Indians tallied six total scores on the ground, while piling up a season-high 258 rushing yards.
“There’s some relief to be able to get back in the win column,” Roseburg coach Matt Watson said.
Roseburg (2-5, 1-4 SD4) hadn’t won since the season-opener at Barlow. Despite the mid-season struggles, the Indians had a goal of finishing the season with three wins after a bye week.
“We said we wanted to win out. We’ve been saying that for a while,” Watson said. “(O)kay, we got one, we got back into the win column. Let’s get the next one. Let’s get the work done.”
The Tribe visits Eagle Point (1-6, 1-4) for its final regular season road game on Friday.
Burwell had his strongest offensive game of the year, with 47 yards on six carries. Eli Smith carried the pigskin nine times for 107 yards and scored twice within the first three minutes of game time.
Roseburg built a 36-0 lead in the first quarter on rushing scores from Smith and Burwell, but also had a 34-yard punt return by Paxton Burke as the clock expired on the period.
The Indians led 43-0 before halftime. The RHS defense forced four turnovers by South Eugene (0-7, 0-5) in the first half. Burke had two interceptions to bring his season total to six. The senior is among the state leaders in Class 5A.
McLane Stedman had an interception and Max Chrisenbery recovered a fumble.
Quarterback Corey Kimball made his return from injury. The senior missed two games.
“It’s always fun to see a senior back out, especially one that had to sit out for a while due to injury,” Watson said. “He stayed sharp through the bye week. He stayed sharp through the injury. So, it was good to get him back out there and competing.”
Kimball wasn’t needed to do much more than command the run game. He was 2-for-2 through the air for just 8 yards, while the rest of the roster did damage with their legs.
“Starters played well. Back-ups played well. They were all executing,” Watson said.
The Indians had a big enough lead for a running clock in the second half. Each team got the ball once.
Roseburg let many of its starters get a rest and others got a chance to shine on a Friday night.
“We tell them all the time that you don’t know how many opportunities you have left, so take advantage of every opportunity that you get,” Watson said, pointing to seniors like Trey Watkins and Donnivan Stone who saw a lot of snaps in the second half.
“Seniors like that, who have been busting their tails in practice and here’s an opportunity for them to make plays under the lights, and they didn’t disappoint,” Watson said.
South Eugene finished with 83 yards of offense. Junior Rocco Higbee had 47 rushing yards on 11 carries. Quarterback Michael Shields was 2-for-12 through the air for 19 yards. Both completions went to tight end Jackson Ingram.
S. Eugene;0;0;0;0;—;0
Roseburg;36;7;0;6;—;49
First Quarter
R — Smith 57 run (Huerta kick)
R — Smith 1 run (Huerta kick)
R — Burwell 6 run (Stedman run)
R — Burwell 4 run (Huerta kick)
R — Burke 34 punt return (Huerta kick)
Second Quarter
R — Burwell 12 run (Huerta kick)
Fourth Quarter
R — Orth 10 run (Kick fail)
