After his team’s flat performance in last week’s victory over Basile, Iota coach Josh Andrus was hoping a good week of practice would restore his team’s focus and have them ready to play hard for four quarters against the Oakdale Warriors.
Mission accomplished.
The 44-7 victory was never in doubt.
By the end of the first quarter, the Bulldogs led 30-0 and had already put the game out of reach.
The difference in the team was evident from the opening snap. They tackled better. They blocked better. Their offense looked sharp. Their defense didn’t allow a first down until just before halftime - when their starters were beginning to take long breaks.
“This week we played much better,” said Andrus. “In practice this week we concentrated on playing focused and paying attention to detail and tonight we played like it.”
Most importantly for Andrus, his team began the game with a bang.
Iota speedster Tyrone Charlot took the opening kickoff to midfield. On the next play, quarterback Trae Rambin flipped the ball to running back Kollin Guillory, who flipped the ball to Charlot on a reverse. After avoiding a tackle in the backfield, Charlot cooly passed the ball to a wide open Rambin who ran it in for a 51-yard score.
“Tyrone played quarterback for his junior high team,” said Andrus. “He plays well at several positions for us. He’s just a very good athlete.”
The Warriors must have known it was going to be a long night on their next possession.
After taking over deep in their territory, Warrior quarterback Gabe Rodriguez was sacked on first down by Bulldog defensive lineman Tayte Langley. Oakdale back Hunter Longino was stuffed for a loss on second. On third down, a bad snap sailed over Rodriguez’s head. By the time he got to it, he was in his own end zone where he was tackled for a safety to give the Bulldogs a 9-0 lead.
After Charlot nearly broke the ensuing Bulldog return for a score, the Rambin-led offense drove to the 21-yard line. On a third down play, Rambin tossed the ball to Chaynery Jonnson for the score. Iota kicker Luis Doreteno, who was 6-for-6 on extra points, nailed the extra point to ensure that the score would be 16-0 before the Warriors offense could run their third play.
After an Oakdale three and out (a phrase that summarized the Warriors first half performance) and another Charlot kick return to midfield, it was time for Guillory (2 tds) to get involved as he raced through a hole on the right side of the line for a 48 yard score.
After Guillory scored his second touchdown on the Bulldogs next possession, Andrus began to play his backups with freshman Dawson Wallace coming in at quarterback. Fellow freshman Dylan Linson scored from 20 yards out late in the second quarter to complete the Bulldogs first half scoring.
They took a 37-0 lead into the locker room.
“It was nice to get our young guys some experience tonight,” said Andrus.
The starters saw one more drive on offense at the outset of the second half resulting in a 44-yard touchdown pass from Rambin to receiver/cornerback Mitchell Lege. With the outcome no longer in doubt, the Warriors managed one cosmetic score on a two-yard run by running back Javon Heyward to make the final score 44-7.
Rambin completed 4 of 7 passes for 100 yards for the Bulldogs.
The Iota ground attack was paced by Guillory who rushed four times for 69 yards. Linson had 15 rushes for 58.