By HARRIET PROTHRO PENROD, Journal Sports
When it rains, it pours. And it rained down hard at Airline’s M.D. Ray Field Friday night.
Behind a brilliant performance from Haughton quarterback Colin Rains – who ran for 218 yards and a touchdown, passed for two touchdowns, and caught a touchdown pass – the Bucs upset Airline 36-26 in the first round of the Non-Select Division I playoffs.
The victory avenged the Bucs’ District 1-5A loss to the Vikings — 55-42 on Oct. 13 — and put them in the second round against No. 11 seed East St. John, which defeated Walker 29-28 in the first round.
The more it rained and the harder the wind blew Friday night, the more Haughton pounded the ball on the ground. And controlled the line of scrimmage. And the clock.
That was the game plan for Haughton (6-5), which squeaked into playoffs as the No. 27 seed (out of 28 teams). Airline, which finished its season 7-4, went in as the No. 6 seed after an unbeaten run through district play.
The Bucs’ plan worked.
“For three-and-a-half quarters, we were able to line up, run the ball, and control the clock,” said Haughton head coach Jason Brotherton. “Then they pushed the tempo.”
By the time the Vikings were able to control the tempo – and get two quick touchdowns — they were already down 36-13 halfway through the fourth quarter. Airline quarterback Ben Taylor threw two touchdown passes (7 yards to Bryson Broom and 40 yards to Bob Patterson) to bring the Vikings within 10 points (36-26) but Haughton wouldn’t let them get any closer.
Taylor’s 60-yard touchdown pass to Daxton Chavez on the Vikings’ first possession of the game gave them an early 6-0 lead (the PAT was blocked). The Bucs returned the favor on their first possession and took a 7-6 lead when Rains caught a 5-yard pass from Jalen Lewis and Carter Ebarb kicked the PAT.
Haughton controlled the second quarter, putting up 20 points on touchdown runs by Tyler Rhodes (7 yards) and Rains (2 yards) and a 5-yard touchdown pass from Rains to John Ecot (Ebarb connected on 2-of-the 3 PATs). Airline, which got a 1-yard touchdown run by Tre Jackson (and Ben Jump PAT) to open the second quarter, trailed 27-13 at the half.
Two plays in the third quarter – when Haughton kept Airline scoreless – were defining moments in the game. With the Bucs up 34-13 and facing fourth-and-16 from their own 42, Ebarb pinned the Vikings on their own 1-yard line with a 57-yard punt. Two plays later, Haughton’s Harley Ingram sacked Taylor in the end zone for a safety.
On the Bucs’ next possession, Ebarb’s 48-yard punt landed on the Vikings’ 2-yard line.
“I actually thought about a fake punt at that point,” Brotherton said of first punt. “With the wind and rain, I was worried about the exchange and getting the punt off. Sometimes, the best calls are the ones you don’t make.”
The Bucs’ only other second-half score came on Rains’ 30-yard touchdown pass to Lewis that put Haughton up 34-13.
“We came out and battled the weather,” said Rains, who had 178 rushing in the first half. “We were just the tougher team tonight. We wanted it.”
Taylor completed 27-of-51 for 380 yards and 3 touchdowns but the Vikings were able to get only 85 yards rushing. While Rains was 7-of-12 for 79 yards and 3 touchdowns, it was the ground game that was the difference for Haughton. In addition to Rains’ 218 yards rushing, Rhodes added 169 yards on 21 carries.
“He’s just a competitor,” Brotherton said of Rains. “And our defense was great tonight. That’s the best they’ve played all year. This win defines our season.”
Contact Harriet at sbjharriet@gmail.com
Haughton 36, Airline 26
Score by quarters
Haughton | 7 | 20 | 9 | 0 | – 36
Airline | 6 | 7 | 0 | 13 | – 26
Scoring summary
A – Daxton Chavez 60 pass from Ben Taylor (kick failed)
H – Colin Rains 5 pass from Jalen Lewis (Carter Ebarb kick)
A – Tre Jackson 1 run (Ben Jump kick)
H – Tyler Rhodes 7 run (Ebarb kick)
H – John Ecot 5 pass from Rains (kick failed)
H – Rains 2 run (Ebarb kick)
H – Lewis 30 pass from Rains (Ebarb kick)
H – Safety
A – Bryson Broom 7 pass from Taylor (pass failed)
A – Bob Patterson 40 pass from Taylor (Jump kick)
Individual leaders
Rushing
Haughton (53-390), Rains 26-218 1 TD, Rhodes 21-169 1 TD, Jamarion Montgomery 2-10, Ecot 1-2, Davontay Moss 3-(-9).
Airline (25-85), Tre Jackson 15-66 1 TD, Cameron Jefferson 5-22, Kylin Jackson 2-4, Taylor 3-(-7).
Passing
Haughton (8-14-1-84), Rains 7-12-1-79 2 TDs, Lewis 1-1-0-5 1 TD, Rhodes 0-1-0-0.
Airline (27-52-2-380), Taylor 27-51-1-380 3 TDs, Tre Jackson 0-1-1-0.
Receiving
Haughton, Lewis 2-42 1 TD, Trent McGowen 2-20, Montgomery 2-12, Rains 1-5 1 TD, Ecot 1-5 1 TD.
Airline, Jefferson 8-55, Tre Jackson 7-77, Chavez 5-102 1 TD, Patterson 4-112 1 TD, Broom 3-34 1 TD.