Jenson Ladiges’s 20-yard touchdown run in overtime—his third rushing TD of the game—capped a 26- point run by Columbia High and lifted the Bruins to a 26-20 non-league victory over the Heppner (Ore.) Mustangs here last Friday night.
The Bruins, in their 2008 home debut, improved to 2-0 after spotting the Mustangs a lead that reached 20-0 with three minutes remaining in the second quarter. Once it straightened out its blocking schemes and tackling tactics, though, Columbia dominated Heppner as, series by series, the momentum shifted to its sideline.
“What ultimately beat Heppner was our discipline,” Bruins Coach Matt Whitmire said. “There were no strategic changes made by our coaching staff after we fell behind. It was just a case where our kids started reading their defensive keys and carrying our their assignments. Once we started doing that, we were able to shut down their offense.”
Heppner finished with 252 total yards compared to the 157 racked up by Columbia.
Ladiges carried the load for the CHS offense for the second week in a row. The junior halfback finished with 120 rushing yards against an athletic Mustangs defense and tied a personal single-game record with three touchdowns that raised his two-game total to six.
But as good as Ladiges was running the ball, it was his 25-yard pass to Dylan Rabinowitz that got the Bruins on the scoreboard for the first time with 1:03 remaining in the first half. The scoring toss capped an eight-play, 53-yard drive that followed Ben Ward’s recovery of Heppner’s onside kick attempt near midfield.
Early on, however, Columbia’s defense appeared to be no match for Heppner’s shifty double Wing offense.
A long punt return by Bryan Holland to CHS’s 15-yard line set up the Mustangs’ first scoring drive, a two-play series that culminated in an 8-yard run by Brent Eckman.
Three and a half minutes into the second quarter, Heppner gained favorable field position again when Wacy Coil recovered CHS’s muff of a punt at the Bruins’ 34. Four plays later, Eckman scored for Heppner from 12 yards out. After completing a pass for the 2-point conversion, the Mustangs led, 14-0, with 7:15 to go in the first half.
Following another defensive stand, Heppner got a good punt return to its 41, then went 59 yards in eight plays to build a 20-0 advantage.
Noted Whitmire: “We were the ones that put ourselves in that hole with our mistakes.”
Eventually, though, Heppner fell victim to its own mistakes: six turnovers and 17 penalties that cost the Mustangs 145 yards in field position.
Columbia broke up the shutout late in the second quarter and got a big break at the start of the third when Seth Bell recovered a fumble at Heppner’s 28-yard line. From there the Bruins needed seven plays to move across the goal line—with the touchdown coming on a 5-yard run by Ladiges—and trim Heppner’s lead to 20-13.
The Bruins’ defensive unit, for its part, held the Mustangs in check and eventually forced another turnover—this time an interception by Ladiges—that left Columbia 9 yards away from tying the game.
CHS’s third touchdown of the night came on a fourth-and-goal leap by Ladiges from the 1-yard line, over a pile blockers and would-be tacklers. Felix Torres followed by booting his second point-after of the night to even the score at 20-all with 4:32 left in the third quarter.
Heppner, however, threatened to reclaim the lead early in the fourth period with a drive that began at its 41 and reached Columbia’s 4-yard line with a 14-yard pick-up on a fourth-down pass. But a bad snap on second-and-goal resulted in Mustangs fumble that Ladiges fell on at CHS’s 10.
That was as close as either team came to scoring in the fourth quarter, which ended when Heppner tackled CHS quarterback Andy Pate for a loss.
In overtime, Heppner went four-and-out in its only possession. When its turn came, Columbia used just three downs to move the ball from the 25-yard line and into the end zone.
Said Whitmire: “The great comeback in the second half and scoring the winning touchdown in overtime certainly added to the excitement of the game, but that’s not the way we want to play every week.”
Coming Up: Columbia will take a long bus trip to Medford, Ore., on Saturday for their meeting with the St. Mary’s Crusaders (0-2) at 5 p.m. in Speigelberg Stadium.
Bruin Bits: Ladiges had a team-high seven unassisted tackles to go with his interception and fumble recovery...Nose tackle Kristien Contreras recorded his first career interception and also recovered a fumble...Columbia High’s last overtime game was November 1998, when the Bruins scored a 2-point conversion to edge the Toutle Ducks, 28-27, in a first-round game of the state Class 1A playoffs.
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