JR High Recap: Charleston 42, Lavaca 0
CHARLESTON – Charleston showed from the first play defensively they weren’t messing around, and put the rest of the 3A-1 Conference on notice that the young junior high Tigers are the real deal with a 42-0 victory over their rival Lavaca Golden Arrows.
Lavaca won the coin toss and elected to receive the opening kickoff, and then the Charleston defense quickly got to work. Lavaca (1-3, 0-1) ran to the right side, and was forced into a fumble recovered by defensive tackle Erick Araujo on the first play from scrimmage.
Charleston (4-0, 1-0) only needed one more play to get on the scoreboard, with quarterback Daeton Stewart connecting with Jaxson Todd on a 29-yard pass to immediately put the Tigers up 7-0. It wouldn’t be the last time Stewart and Todd would connect.
On Lavaca’s next possession, they were forced into a 3-and-out after losing 5 yards on the drive. Tanner Schilling returned the punt 15 yards into Lavaca territory. After that, Stewart found Todd again, this time for a 37-yard touchdown pass. Two passes, two touchdowns: not a bad way to start off the first quarter.
“We knew going into the game that they would give us 1-on-1 matchups, and we felt as long as we could protect upfront we could have some success,” said Charleston assistant coach Tyler Reese. “Jaxson was able to take advantage of some matchups and Daeton hit him in stride.”
From the famous 1990’s infomercials: “But wait, there’s more!” (the youngsters reading probably won’t get this.) On the following Lavaca drive, Jaxson Todd would strike again, this time defensively. Todd picked off the Lavaca QB near midfield, and returned it all the way to house for what would have been a touchdown, but was called back for a block in the back penalty.
On their third offensive possession, Charleston this time would flex their ground-and-pound muscle with a dose of Grant Little’s rushing attack. With Charleston’s ball at the Lavaca 37-yard line, Little only needed two carries to find the endzone, the first for 14 yards and the second for 23 yards, to put Charleston up 21-0 at the end of the first quarter.
“The kids were ready to go,” said Charleston junior high Head Coach Matt Stewart when asked about his Tigers hot start. “Being a rivalry game, sometimes crazy things happen that don’t always go in your favor. Last night the first play from scrimmage went in our favor and the kids never looked back.”
Charleston would continue adding to the lead in the second quarter, aided by two more defensive turnovers. Tanner Schilling took an interception 25 yards for a touchdown with 6:45 remaining in the first half to put the Tigers up 28-0. On the next Lavaca possession, they were quickly forced into a fumble, this time recovered by Grant Little. On the night, the defense limited Lavaca to only one first down in the contest.
“Our guys did a great job playing hard, reading their keys, and getting to the football with a lot of energy,” said Charleston assistant coach Brett Ward about his Tigers defense. “They executed the game plan really well and were very physical up front. I was proud of the way they played together, communicated, and flew to the football all night.”
Charleston would cap off the first half with one more touchdown, this time a 19-yard pass from Stewart to Cooper Carruth, to put the tigers up 35-0. Stewart was sensational on the night, finishing 7-of-8 passing for 119 yards and 3 touchdowns. He was also a perfect 6-for-6 on extra points.
In the mercy rule shortened second half, the young eighth-grade/second-team Tigers had an opportunity to show what they were capable of and took advantage of it. Quarterback Barrett Smith completed four passes for 54 yards, capped off with a 30-yard touchdown pass to Kolton Ballard to make the score 42-0 early in the third quarter. On the next possession, Ballard would also have an interception.
Cooper Carruth led the way defensively with nine tackles, followed by Kurt Lachowsky and Jaten Murray with three.
Charleston will have a bye week next week, with the next game coming on October 1st at home against Paris.
All photo credits to Sharon Baumgartner Dewitt.
