Tuesday, April 23, 2024
ZEROED IN: Freshman Peyton Brown used 23 carries to rush for 166 yards and four touchdowns.
BIG RETURN: Peyton Pains set up a pair of Tolar touchdowns with long punt returns deep in to Bosqueville territory.
BREAKING LOOSE: Peyton Brown breaks away from a defender on one of his 23 carries for a game-high 166 yards and four scores.
THE ELUSIVE LECLUYSE: Jackson LeCluyse was well protected and threw for 161 yards and two touchdowns.
SHUTDOWN DEFENSE: Jasen Stephens (12) and Mason Berry seal up Bosqueville's Justin Moore.
SENIOR BACK: Joseph Arce was patient and followed his blocking to gain 72 yards.
TO THE HOUSE: Matt Moore heads to the end zone on 19-yard pass from Jackson LeCluyse.
DROPPING BACK: Tolar's Jackson LeCluyse has led Tolar to a 7-2 record and 4-1 in district play.
BOSQUEVILLE— It's all about how you finish.
Defense was the name of the game early, and Tolar (7-2, 4-1) got off to a slow start before kicking Bosqueville (5-4, 3-2) to the curb and into third place in the District 7-2A Division 1 standings Friday with a 63-7 victory.
The Rattlers got four rushing touchdowns from freshman Peyton Brown who powered Tolar's ground game with 166 yards on 23 carries. He had plenty of help along the way.
THE SLOW START
Bosqueville looked like a challenger in the first quarter as they mounted a sustained drive before coughing up the ball, and Brock Owens recovered the fumble for Tolar. The Rattlers failed to take advantage when they lost the handle on the ball, too.
Aided by a controversial personal foul on a running into the punter penalty Bosqueville drew first blood on a Newt Schornack pass to Noah Pena to take the early 7-0 lead.
The two teams would exchange punts before Tolar would find the end zone as Jackson LeCluyse lasered a 40-yard scoring pass to Wyatt Jones, who then booted the first of his nine PATs on the evening.
THE DAM BREAKS
There's always the danger of the dam breaking when there's a heavy downpour, and Peyton Rains started Tolar's flashflood of scoring with the first of his two extended punt returns that set up a pair of Rattler touchdowns.
The dust hadn’t settled from Rains' return before LeCluyse targeted Matt Moore on a 19-yard touchdown, and Tolar would turn its attention to pounding through the Bulldogs’ defense with steady doses of Browns' running.
Brown scored on runs of three and five yards before halftime, and the first (40-yard return) of two Cade Moody interceptions shut down the Bulldogs' hopes.
INITIAL GAME PLAN
Before the game, coach Jeremy Mullins said he planned to serve steady doses of running backs Joseph Arce and Brown, but the Bulldogs' defense presented some opportunities.
"You have to be able to take what the defense is giving to you. They were loading it up a lot (the box) there tonight, so we were fortunate to put a couple in the air and still ran it well when we needed too," Mullins said.
Success through the air didn't mean Mullins wasn't willing to go back to what has been Tolar's meat-and-potatoes running game.
Ideally, you want to do both (run and throw), and I think we got the guys to do it. We are skilled on the outside, and Jackson (LeCluyse) throws a good football when he has time, and the offensive line is protecting him well like they were tonight. He's going to give them a chance to go make a play," Mullins said.
SHUTDOWN CITY
Bosqueville came in tied for second place with Tolar, and Mullins expected the Bulldogs to "air it out." Schornack's 14-34 passing generated just one touchdown and 152 yards to go against three interceptions.
Sandwiched between Moody's two takeaways was a 25-yard pick-six of a tipped pass returned by Luke Willmon that made it 49-7.
"The defense has played really well now for three weeks. They were stout. I was interested tonight in seeing how we covered the pass because I knew that they would throw it and throw it pretty well. We had a couple of breakdowns that you would like to not see on some big plays, but overall, I thought they did really well," Mullins said.
CALLING OFF THE DOGS
LeCluyse and Brown hit the sidelines, but the Rattlers didn't skip a beat as Mullins called off the dogs, but backup quarterback Isaac Blessings created his own opportunity and broke free for the game's longest score on a 70-yard gallop.
The large margin on the scoreboard wasn't stopping the Rattlers' offensive linemen from executing their blocking scheme.
"The offensive line has been the difference for us this year, and if you can run the ball in this game, you have a chance. We have guys that can run it well, but our offensive line is (the change) night and day from the beginning of the year. They had a good summer and off-season, and it's been fun to watch it pay off," Mullins said.
WHAT'S NEXT
Tolar's final regular-season game will be Senior Night on Nov. 5, with a 7 p.m. kickoff at home against Itasca (1-8, 0-5).
While the Wampus Cats don't appear to be a threat, there's always the danger of overlooking someone because the playoffs are looming. Mullins is well-versed in focusing his Rattlers on the task at hand, so there shouldn't be any surprises.
News.Russell@hcnews.com | 817-573-7066 ext. 231
