COLONY — It was an uneven matchup when the Crest Lancers and Yates Center Wildcats met on the gridiron on Friday.
Crest’s 50-point lead at halftime prompted the game to end at halftime with a 72-0 final score. Crest returner Jerry Rodriguez scored a team-high three touchdowns, one hauled in on a pass, another on a punt return and the other on a kickoff return.
The Lancers forced five turnovers, three fumbles and two interceptions. One interception was returned for a touchdown while a fumble recovery also went for a touchdown, and one went for a safety.
Rogan Weir had the pick six and Logan Kistner returned a fumble for a touchdown.
“On defense, we just flew to the ball and it would eventually pop out,” Crest’s Jensen Barker said. “We have to come out a lot stronger than last year. This year, we lost all of our seniors so we have to come out and play twice as hard.”
Weir started at quarterback for the Lancers and made one pass for 48 yards and threw one touchdown. Henry White led the rushing attack when he ran the ball twice for a combined 70 yards and a touchdown.
Kade Nilges also carried the ball a lot, going for two rushes of 62 yards combined and one touchdown. Jensen Barker also had four carries for 57 yards and a touchdown.
“We’re going to have to rely on speed more than power this season,” said Barker. “This team went against the varsity in practice last year so I think a lot of the connection comes from that. This team works really well together.”
Rodriguez had himself a day, hauling in a lone catch at receiver for a 48-yard touchdown. He also went for a 50-yard punt return touchdown and a 65-yard kickoff return touchdown.
Crest travels to Chase County on Friday.
