Senior Max Brown watches kick-off against the Aces. (Josh Tu’22/Staff)
On Saturday, November 9, the Columbus Academy football team faced off against Amanda Clearcreek away in the first round of the playoffs and fell to the Aces 41-10.
The Vikes started out slowly, going 3 and out on the first possession and punting the ball away. Clearcreek, on the other hand, jumped on CA early, having a huge run on the first play and punching the ball into the end zone three plays later to open up the scoring.
The Aces tried to continue their momentum, attempting an onside kick. The ball bounced straight to sophomore Kevin Reeves, who fell on it to give the Vikings possession. On the ensuing possession, quarterback Brady Hess made a nice play to gain a first down by evading tacklers and delivering a strike to Carter Warstler, but the Vikes failed on 4th down and had to punt.
The defense then stood up the Aces, who punted out of a regular shotgun formation to offset the team’s lack of an established kicker. Soon after, Clearcreek sent a huge blitz that got to Hess, who fumbled. The Aces capitalized, scoring on a long pass play to push the lead to 14-0.
Knowing a spark was needed, CA ran a double-reverse flea-flicker and Hess delivered a strike down the field to Sam Huyghe. CA couldn’t force the ball into the end zone and settled for a short field goal.
After this, both defenses stood strong, each forcing a punt. Once the Aces got the ball back, they wasted no time in breaking a huge toss play. On the play, Academy forced a fumble, but the Aces’ running back pounced on the ball. Two plays later, Clearcreek scored once again, pushing its lead to 21-3.
After moving the ball a bit, the Vikings once again failed on the 4th down, and the Aces added to their lead on the next play. On the next drive, CA continued its mistake-filled play, dropping three passes and punting the ball back to the Aces. The lead ballooned to 35-3 on a long touchdown pass before the half.
Academy finally showed some signs of life early in the third, scoring its first touchdown of the night on a run play to lineman Philip Soderberg. After that, the defenses locked up, with the third quarter ending 35-10.
A minute into the fourth quarter, Amanda Clearcreek recorded the final score of the night, and the game ended with the Aces winning in a shocking blowout, 41-10.
Despite the subpar end, this was still a strong season for the Vikings. Hess, Gyvynn Mendenhall, Soderberg, and Warstler were named 1st team all-league. Vaughn Armour, Max Brown, Robert Mills, and Donovan Simpson were on the 2nd team. Keir Gorospe, Carter James, and Chris Sugar were named to the MSL 3rd team. Warstler was also named co-back of the year, and Sam Massick was named kicker of the year.
Although the Vikes will graduate some talent, Hess, Huyghe, James, and others should lead a dynamic offensive attack next season.
