Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Safety the difference in Clouse's first win
Reardan sophomore Shane Book takes a handoff around the right side and looks to cut upfield past NWC junior Titus Spuler. Reardan held off the Crusaders 9-7 last Friday.
REARDAN-105 seconds into Friday night's home opener for the Screaming Eagles, junior Richard Boyd sacked Northwest Christian (Colbert) quarterback Mike Bauman in the Crusader end zone for a safety. The two points that generated proved to be the difference in the game, as Reardan held off NWC 9-7 for its first win of the season Friday, Sept. 9.
The win was the first in Matt Clouse's head coaching career for Reardan.
Reardan and NWC combined for just two more scores after the opening safety.
Bauman threw a 51-yard dime down the middle of the field to Emmett McLaughlin with 1:28 left in the second quarter to give the Crusaders a 7-2 lead in the second half.
Reardan's offense finally got some rhythm in the run game in the second half as the Screaming Eagles motored down to the NWC 11-yard line, but the Crusaders forced a fourth-and-four at that point.
Clouse rolled the dice and went for it, and senior Jaquin Stroble took a sweep around the left side into the endzone to give Reardan a 9-7 lead it wouldn't relinquish for the game's final quarter and a half.
"That drive right after halftime was huge," Clouse said. "Kids kind of woke up a bit. We were able to get into the endzone."
Both offenses were hampered by a bevy of penalties. NWC was flagged nine times for 130 yards, while Reardan received 115 penalty yards on 11 flags. The Screaming Eagles controlled the clock, holding possession for 31:20 of the game's 48 minutes.
Boyd led a Reardan pass rush that sacked Bauman seven times. The junior had 2.5 sacks, while senior Aidan Chilson had two sacks and sophomore Jakari Singleton had 1.5.
"Defensively, we played a great game other than maybe one or two plays," Clouse said. "Kids were flying around and making plays."
Senior Hunter Wynecoop ran for a team-high 69 yards for Reardan, while Stroble carried 11 times for 62 yards and the team's lone offensive score.
A week after attempting 12 passes, a high number for Reardan historically, sophomore quarterback Rysen Soliday attempted just three passes. He completed two for nine yards.
Reardan improved to 1-1 this season and will look to continue the winning momentum when the Chewelah Cougars visit Friday, Sept. 16 at 7 p.m. The Cougars are off to a strong 2-0 start with convincing wins over NWC and Colfax.
Drew Lawson is the editor of the Davenport Times. He is a graduate of Eastern Washington University.
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