The only thing better than the beginning of the football season is the summer heat turning into fall temperatures. And on Thursday evening, it was a brisk evening which means we are getting that much closer to the playoffs. But, back to the task at hand, recapping a football matchup between Southwest and Medicine Valley.
The Roughriders used the ground game and the aerial attack on Thursday night to beat Medicine Valley 51-20. Southwest's Jacob Barber led the rushing attack with 230 yards and a trio of touchdowns.
Let's go back to the first quarter. On Southwest's first possession of the game, the Roughriders scored on a six-play drive as Houston Billeter found Trenton Williams on a one-yard touchdown pass. With 6:03 to go in the first, it was 8-0. A couple of minutes later, Billeter found Williams again, this time from 32 yards away and it was 16-0 with 4:14 remaining in the opening period.
It was 16-0 heading to the second quarter.
In the early stages of the second quarter, Medicine Valley punched it in on a 12-yard run by Lucas Einspahr. The extra-point conversion was good, but the Raiders were still down two scores, 16-7.
Southwest fumbled on their next possession and Medicine Valley had the momentum. But, they couldn't turn that opportunity into points. Southwest took back over on their six-yard line. The Roughriders didn't take much time as they scored in three plays; a 37-yard touchdown by Jacob Barber with 6:56 before halftime. It was 22-7 at that point.
Southwest scored one more time before halftime on a 14-yard pass from Billeter to Deric Kelley to make it 29-7.
That was the tally at the intermission.
Out of the half, Southwest was driving and then the Raiders forced another turnover as Ethan Brown intercepted Billeter. The Raiders turned that into points on a one-yard touchdown pass from Mason Roblee to Tyce Pate. It was 29-13 with 4:52. Southwest bounced back nicely as Barber ran it in on the fifth play of the drive from 26 yards away.
Another extra point was hit by Billeter and it was 37-14 with 4:09 in the third. On the next possession for Medicine Valley, Roblee threw an interception as Billeter snagged it out of the air. Southwest made the turnover count and scored as Billeter found Deric Kelley on a pass and it was 43-14 late in the third period. That score carried over to the fourth.
Barber scored another rushing touchdown from 30 yards away and the kick was good and it was 51-14 with 6:23 remaining in the game.
The Raiders got on the board one more time as Payton Newcomb-Snyder scored from 26 yards away on the ground to make it 51-20.
Unofficially for the Raiders, they had 323 yards of offense, 185 passing and 138 rushing. They had two turnovers in the game too. Lucas Einspahr had 93 yards rushing, 28 yards passing, 41 yards receiving and a touchdown. Mason Roblee was 13-20 passing with 160 yards. Payton Newcomb-Snyeder had 29 yards rushing and a score. Tyce Pate caught eight balls for 86 yards and Kaleb Einspahr had 55 yards receiving.
For Southwest, they had 416 yards on offense. Jacob Barber had 230 yards rushing and three touchdowns. Houston Billeter was 12-20 with 167 yards and four touchdowns. Deric Kelly had six catches for 77 yards and two touchdowns. Trenton Williams had five catches for 84 yards and two touchdowns.
Three players had 15 tackles for Southwest; Deric Kelley, Trenton Williams, and Jacob Barber. Damario Koetter and Houston Billeter each had 11. Southwest had two turnovers.
Medicine Valley is now 0-5 and their losing streak stands at 22 games. They will play at home next Friday against Wallace.
Southwest is 3-2 and will play at Wauneta-Palisade next Friday.
We caught up with Houston Billeter after the game. Postgame interviews are brought to you by Acme Printing Company
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