Sports

STAR CITY PELTS THE BEAVERS, 48-18

By Sam McGhee/SPECIAL TO THE COMMERCIAL
Saturday, October 24, 2009 2:12 AM CDT

LAKE VILLAGE — The Star City Bulldogs came in to Beaver Stadium Friday night with a chance to push their record to 7-1 and gain sole possession of second place in the 8-4A Conference with a victory over the Lakeside Beavers. That is exactly what the Bulldogs accomplished with a dominating 48-18 victory over the Beavers. With the win, Star City clinches its first playoff berth since 2004.

The Bulldogs scoring barrage started in the first quarter after Drue Harvey blocked a Lakeside punt that he was able to recover at the Beavers 34-yard line. On the first play from scrimmage, Star City running back Demetri Goins ripped a 30 yard run down to the Beaver 4-yard line. Goins again took the handoff from quarterback Sage Gasaway and sprinted in off of the block of right tackle Greg Massey for a 4-yard touchdown. The PAT was no good and that gave the Bulldogs a 6-0 lead at 8:43 of the first quarter.

After a quick three-and-out by the Beavers, Star City took advantage of a 12-yard Lakeside punt, gaining possession at the Beavers’ 27-yard line. Two plays later, Star City running back Hosia Rochelle scored from a yard out. Ty Towers converted the try for two to give the Bulldogs a 14-0 lead.

After the ensuing kickoff and another quick three-and-out by the Beavers, Star City mounted a seven-play, 55-yard touchdown drive that consumed 3:12 off of the clock. The drive was capped off by a 3-yard touchdown run by Goins, but the try for two failed to leave the score 20-0, Star City at the end of the first quarter.

On the Beavers’ next possession, they put together a solid 10-play, 76-yard drive, highlighted by a 25-yard TD pass from quarterback Jacorrius White to tight end Brandon White. The try for two failed, but Lakeside had closed the gap to 20-6. That was as close as it would get. From that point on, it became the Gasaway-to-Towers show.

The Gasaway-to-Towers combination first connected on a pass play of 58 yards for a touchdown, with Rochelle converting the two-point conversion at the 7:43 mark of the second quarter. The Gasaway-to-Towers combo would hook up again just five minutes later on a 30-yard touchdown strike. After a two point conversion by Isaac Hawkins, the Bulldogs led 36-6.

On the ensuing kickoff, the Beavers inexplicably failed to cover the kickoff. Harvey recovered the ball for Star City and the Bulldogs got a gift of a touchdown when Gasaway connected with wide receiver Drake Snyder for a 4-yard TD strike for his third TD pass of the night. The PAT was no good and Star City had a 42-6 lead going into halftime.

The second half sped by as the clock ran continuously because of the 36-point Bulldogs lead. Lakeside did manage to mount two impressive second-half touchdown drives of 50 and 51 yards respectively. White threw a 40-yard TD pass to Vincent King and White also had a 20-yard run for a touchdown. Those two series were sandwiched around a Towers TD run of 57 yards for the lone touchdown of the second half for the Bulldogs.

White was 4-of-14 for 77 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Beavers offense. He also had nine carries for 49 yards and a touchdown.

Gasaway was 5-of-8 for 129 yards and three touchdowns and he also had four rushes for 49 yards. Towers was the leading receiver for the Bulldogs with three receptions for 99 and two touchdowns. Goins was the leading rusher with seven carries for 78 yards while Rochelle had four carries for 40 yards.

Star City will face Fordyce at home next week and Lake Village will look to get on the winning track against Dollarway.

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