JR High Recap: Charleston 33, Pottsville 0
CHARLESTON – The sweltering 100 degree heat wasn’t the only thing that was hot on Thursday night. The Charleston Jr High Tigers (2-0) offense asserted their will for the second straight week, earning a decisive 33-0 victory over the visiting Pottsville Apaches.
However, unlike last week in Booneville, it took some time for the Charleston offense to really start moving. The Apaches won the opening coin toss, and elected to receive, with the strategy of keeping the Charleston offense off the field. It worked. On their opening drive, the Apaches showed the Tigers a heavy dose of the ground game, and were able to grind out one first down, before ultimately having to punt. However, after Pottsville burnt out some clock, they were forced to punt to Charleston.
Once Charleston finally received the ball on offense, disaster struck. Charleston fumbled on a bad QB/RB exchange with 2:26 remaining in the first quarter, giving Pottsville the ball right back. “We made a big emphasis this week on protecting the football, and that turnover definitely slowed us down,” said Charleston JR High Head Coach Matt Stewart. “But we didn’t change anything offensively or defensively. Our kids didn’t flinch either. They stuck to the process and the kids played really well.”
It turns out what Charleston really needed to get things rolling was a heavy dose of Cooper Carruth, and he certainly delivered. Listed on the roster as a running back, Carruth is also a threat as a receiver. Total on his breakout night, Carruth ended with 64 yards rushing and 1 touchdown, and 92 yards receiving and 2 touchdowns. “Cooper has kind of been our secret weapon thus far, but he is no longer a secret,” said Coach Stewart when asked to comment on the performance of his Freshman running back. “He didn’t have any touches in the Elkins scrimmage, and was limited against Booneville. But he stepped up in a huge way for us and got us going with some big momentum swings.”
With the game still scoreless at 5:40 left in the second quarter, Charleston quarterback Daeton Stewart connected with Carruth on a 67-yard touch down pass to finally get the scoreboard to light up. But they were just getting warmed up. Following a three and out forced by the Tigers defense, Stewart and Carruth connected again, this time on a 25-yard touchdown pass with 1:30 left in the second half.
The Tigers took a modest 13-0 lead going into halftime. But Charleston would come out in the third quarter firing on all cylinders. Charleston received the ball first to start the half, and quickly got to work. The first play from scrimmage was a 22-yard jet sweep pass completion to Jaxson Todd. Immediately followed by another touchdown from, you guessed it, Cooper Carruth. This time it was Cooper getting the score on the ground, finding a hole behind the offensive line and taking it for the 41-yard score to put the Tigers up 20-0 with 6:36 remaining in the third quarter.
Stewart once again had heavy praise for his offensive line. “Anytime you have success on offense, you’re going to have five ‘dudes’ up front. And for us, Maddox Loyd, Cam Fox, Aiden Akers, Kurt Lachowsky, and Easton Harrington did an amazing job tonight. We had a clean pocket on pass plays, and our running backs had multiple plays where they were well beyond the line of scrimmage before they were touched in the second and third level.” On top of the rushing yards, the Charleston offensive line once again did not allow a sack.
It wouldn’t take long for the Tigers to strike again. The Tigers kicked off to Pottsville, who had a hard time fielding the kick, and Charleston swarmed the returner and forced a fumble, which was recovered by the Tigers at the Pottsville 8-yard line. Two plays later, Daeton Stewart ran it in for a 3-yard touchdown on a QB keeper with 5:30 remaining.
Charleston would cap off a 20-0 third quarter with a 36-yard touchdown pass from Stewart to freshman wide receiver Carson Linsing with 2:53 left in the third quarter. This gave the Tigers a 33-0 advantage, which would end up being the final score after a scoreless fourth quarter.
Stewart also gave praise to his defense, which was dominant once again for a second straight week. “Our defensive line started with Erick Araujo, Bryant Wilson, and Cam Fox. We rotate several guys up front on the line, and they had a huge impact on the game with how much they controlled the line of scrimmage. To keep Pottsville off schedule, putting them in third and long situations, really allowed our defense to fly around the ball.”
Pottsville had a chance to score late in the 4th quarter, while the Tigers gave most of the starters a much deserved breather. Charleston stuffed to the Apaches last second attempt to secure the shutout, much to the satisfaction of Coach Stewart. “To me, I think the play of the night was when our group of 2/3 string guys made a huge goal line stand from inside the 5 with 3 seconds remaining,” said Stewart. (Charleston Assistant) Coach Brett Ward told them at the end of the game, that anytime every player on the team gets to play, and we still hold them scoreless, that’s a great team defensive effort.”
Daeton Stewart finished the night completing 7 of 13 passes for 147 yards and three touchdowns, and also had a rushing touchdown. Charleston rushed for a total of 127 yards, led by Carruth with 67 yards, followed by Grant Little with 22 yards.
Charleston will spend the next week getting ready for what will be a tough opponent in 2-0 Ozark. Ozark is coming off of a 32-6 victory over Huntsville.
7th grade score: Pottsville 24, Charleston 16
