Log College Football Falls to Poquessing Middle 42-6

Log College Middle School Football Coach James Rogers knew that his team would be in for a tough game on the road against a strong Poquessing Middle School squad. His assessment proved accurate, as Poquessing defeated Log 42-6 Tuesday afternoon. The defeat dropped the Log College lightweight team to 0-1-1.

Poquessing got off to a fast start, leading 12-0 in the first quarter before adding two more scores—this time with one good two-point conversion—to take a 26-0 lead at half. The Redskins utilized a strong running game and a few key passing plays to keep the Colonial Soldiers defense on their heels all game.

“It was a real difficult challenge for us today,” Rogers said. “We have a lot of first time football players [and] we’re trying to teach them the basics. [Poquessing] was well-equipped today.”

The Redskins certainly looked like the bigger, deeper, and more-experienced squad Tuesday afternoon, as their offense ran the ball with relative ease and their defense was able to contain the Soldiers’ rushing attack and force some turnovers.

After the Log offense was able to control the ball for a bit at the end of the first quarter, Poquessing retained possession on a turnover on downs to start the second. They quickly jumped out to a 20-0 lead on a long touchdown pass and a short run for the two-point conversion.

The Soldiers again struggled to gain much ground on offense, giving the ball back to the Redskins with good field position. Poquessing added another TD just before halftime on a short run, heading into the break with a 26-0 lead.

The Colonial Soldiers defense tightened up a bit in the second half, only allowing one score in each quarter. Trailing 42-0 near the end of the fourth, Log finally got on the board thanks to two big plays.

A kickoff return to their own 45-yard line finally gave them good field position to start a drive. Rogers then pulled some trickery out of his bag, as Log ran a reverse that seemed to surprise the Redskins and nearly gave the Soldiers a touchdown, as the runner was pushed out of bounds right at the one yard-line. From there, Log was able to punch the ball in before time expired to avoid the shutout.

Rogers said he was pleased with his team’s effort, especially the way they were able to move the ball on their last drive. He said he knows his team would rather be winning every game, but he wants to make sure they continue to focus on the fundamentals.

“We want to win, but in a game like today we have to take any positives we can get with a lot of young players,” he said.

Rodgers explained that teaching the basic aspects of the game—like blocking and tackling—is very important, as his lightweight team acts like a feeder system for Log’s varsity squad.

“This is our lightweight team which acts like somewhat of a JV for our varsity—our unlimited—team,” he said. “Right now [the varsity team] is 2-1, so our hope is that these [lightweight] kids get a chance in a game to better their skills and then, in the future, help out our heavyweight team.”

Regardless of final scores or results, Rogers said he is pleased with the way his team simply enjoys itself playing the game of football. “It’s tough in a [blowout game] to find some positives, but we do have fun,” he said. “We have fun at practice. We have fun in the games, and that’s really ultimately what we hope these kids get out of it.”

Rogers and the rest of the Colonial Soldiers will look to keep enjoying themselves and improving on the game’s basic fundamentals when they take on Charles H Boehm Middle school next Tuesday afternoon on the road.