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Last Updated: Feb 18th, 2009 - 12:23:13 |
It was a running back showdown that was as hot as its billing, despite heavy rains and a sloshy field.
Lyndon Rowells rushed for 229 yards and had five total touchdowns, further cementing himself in the College of the Redwoods record books as the Corsairs remained undefeated in conference play with a muddy 47-33 win over Solano at Community Stadium Saturday night.
Hardly outdone, Solano's Brye Hawthorne, who entered the game as the state's No. 1 running back, had a great game and finished with 159 rushing yards, 52 receiving yards and three touchdowns.
Official state-wide statistics won't be availabe until Monday, but Hawthorne should still be the top back in California, while Rowells could move up to No. 2 as he improved his season rushing total to 1,226 yards, just 19 behind Hawthorne.
Redwoods improved to 4-4 overall (3-0 in the Bay Valley Conference), while Solano fell to 1-6, 0-3. CR will play at Yuba on Saturday before closing out the regular season at Shasta the following week, a matchup that could serve as a conference championship game.
Rowells, who two weeks ago became CR's career rushing leader -- now at 2,582 yards -- was glad to perform well in a matchup against Hawthorne, but was happier with the win.
”I thought about it a little bit, but I was just happy to get a win,” Rowells said. “If I would have had 10 yards or 100, (Hawthorne) could have outperformed me, as long as we get the win that's
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what matters.”
It was obvious early on that both backs were going to put on a show, but the game turned on a sensational 85-yard punt return early by Rowells after Solano's first possession of the third quarter.
With CR leading 34-19 in what had all the makings of a back-and-forth battle, Rowells fielded a punt on his own 15, picked his way through the middle of the field, made his way to the right side line and planted hard on his right foot before cutting back across the field on an uninterrupted line to the end zone.
The Corsairs scored another touchdown two minutes later to go up 47-19, and though Solano made it into the end zone on a 20-yard run by Hawthorne, the momentum was clearly on CR's side.
”We knew their offense was going to come out and do well, so we had to come out and score points in a hurry,” said CR quarterback Sergio Allen, who finished with 104 total yards (47 rushing) and a passing touchdowon. “The O-line was very determined tonight. We wanted to get Lyndon as many yards as possible.”
With his five-touchdown performance, Rowells tied his own single-game scoring record and moved to within one rushing touchdown of CR's single season (10 game) record. Isaac White is the current record holder with 14 rushing touchdowns in 1996.
Rowells has 3,463 all-purpose yards in his two-year career at CR, putting him just 38 yards behind White's record. There are still two games left in the regular season, which should be enough time for Rowells to etch his name throughout the CR record books.
On Saturday, Redwoods scored on its first possession -- its first time doing so since the first game of the season -- but Solano answered two plays later when the 5-foot-7, 165-pound Hawthorne caught a swing pass from quarterback Blake McAhren, shook the first defender and rocketed up the numbers for a 48-yard touchdown.
Rowells capped CR's ensuing drive with a 7-yard touchdown run around left end, which made the score 13-7 less than three minutes into the game.
The Corsairs provided one of three redzone stops on Solano's next drive when defensive tackle Marcus Coleman recoverd a fumble by McAhren on the CR 11. Redwoods march 89 yards on 10 plays and scored on fourth-and-1 when Rowells speared through the line.
”Solano had a quick offense, but the mud played a factor. I think we actually would have played better on a good field,” said CR linebacker Casey Sarvinski. “The red zone has been our strength all year long. It's usually the big play that hurts us. We really needed those stops to give us some momentum.”
Solano scored the next two touchdowns, the second of which was a 79-yard burst by Hawthorne. He shot through the right side of the line, broke two tackles and was off to the races, bringing the score back to 20-19 in favor of CR.
Rowells scored again, this time from 35 yards out with four minutes left in the half, and following an intereception by teammate Eric Barry, scored less than a minute later on a one-yard plunge.
Rain picked up during halftime, and by the fourth quarter the field was a mess, which made for a tough time running and throwing. Solano had the only touchdown of the period, which was a 19-yard pass from McAhren to Kenonte Howard with 38 seconds left in the game.
It was an impressive win by CR nonetheless, one that should put the team on a collision course with fellow conference leader Shasta in two weeks. Expect the Corsairs to be hungry, because, according to them, they haven't done enough to open the eyes of critics.
”Nobody in the league is respecting us,” Allen said. “We've beaten some good teams, but nobody thinks we're that good. It'll be a big game for us next week at Yuba.”
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