FeedsOne more game!
Romulus wins 5th game, on the verge of playoff berth
Click image to enlarge
Mario Crawford (3) raced by rushed for 218 yards on eight carries to lead the Eagles to a, 34-12, homecoming victory on Friday. Photo by Ken Garner.Excitement continues to grow with every win for the Romulus Eagle football team.
The Eagles recently beat the River Rouge Panthers, 34-12, for a homecoming victory that improved their record to 5-1—one game away from securing a playoff spot.
Romulus was off and running on the legs of junior phenom Mario Crawford early on and often. Crawford routed the Rouge defense for 218 yards on just eight carries—an exceptional 27.3 yards per carry—and four touchdowns.
His first score came three plays after Shane Wells recovered the team’s opening kickoff that took a funny bounce away from the Rouge return team, according to Romulus Coach Matt Ladach. Crawford ran the score in from four yards out. Senior Cedric Smith’s point-after was good for a 7-0 lead.
Romulus’s pass defense by Wells and Jeff Williams forced a Panthers turnover on downs at the Eagles’ 37. It only took Romulus three plays to score. Crawford scurried the final 54 yards. Smith’s kick was good and the Eagles took a 14-0 lead with 3:44 left in the first.
Crawford scored his third touchdown when he outran Rouges’ defense on a sweep around the left end for a 73-yard run at 2:19 of the second. That made it 21-6. He scored the team’s fourth touchdown with a 61-yard run on Romulus’ first possession of the second half. Smith’s extra-point attempt went wide but Romulus amassed a 27-6 lead.
That would be the night for Crawford.
After Justin Price and JuJuan Whitlow teamed up to block a Rouge punt, Rod Walker carried the rock four times for 32 yards to set up Mathews one-yard touchdown at 7:43 of the third. Smith split the uprights for a 34-6 advantage.
“This was a fun game for our team,” Ladach said. “We had a good homecoming crowd, and we appreciate their backing. We are all very happy with the support the community has shown our football program. Hopefully, we can continue to represent Romulus in a positive way.”
Senior lineman Joe Kiesznowski led the defense with 10 tackles. Sophomore Carlos Sims had nine.
Rouge scored on three-yard run by Aaron Cook at 8:42 of the second and on a four-yard run by Damion Rice with 3:09 left in the game for the Panthers’ 12 points.
Romulus still needs one more win to make it to the playoffs without help. The last three games will be tough for the Eagles. They have an undefeated Highland Park on the road at 4 p.m. tomorrow. There, Romulus will get healthy dose of Anthony Jones on the Jet sweep and fullback action from Marcel Dubose and Darius Johnson, according to Ladach.
“Friday’s game will tell us a lot,” he said. “Highland Park is the fastest team we will play this year. Their overall team speed and athleticism on defense is equally impressive. The stakes are high. A win will clinch a share of the Mega Blue title.”
After that they will host an impressive Inkster team at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 13 and a difficult Birmingham Country Day at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 20.
All they need is one, but that’s not how Ladach looks at it.
“After the game the kids started chanting: ‘one more game, one more game,’” Ladach said. “I told them that I don’t want them to be satisfied with just wining one more. We have three games left and I want them to compete in all of them and try to win all of them.”
