By: Brayden Peters
LE ROY, NY - Homecoming couldn't have ended any better for Le Roy/Caledonia-Mumford fans, as the Rivals football team cruised to a 40-0 victory over the Livonia Bulldogs. It was a complete game for the Rivals, as their offense recorded 252 total yards of offense while only giving up 52 yards, all of which came on carries. Le Roy/Caledonia-Mumford also allowed five first downs.
"Tonight was definitely better than the last couple of weeks," Rivals head coach Mike Humphrey said. "Got to check the film, fix a couple things, but I'm excited in the direction that we are moving."
226 of the Rivals' yards on offense came on the ground. Running backs Jack Egeling and Zach Boop received most of the workload. Egeling finished the day with six carries for 120 yards and two touchdowns. As for Boop, he recorded 97 yards and a touchdown on five carries.
"We came out more prepared than them," Egeling said. "The blocking let us take advantage of our skills."
It was mostly a quiet day for Rivals sophomore quarterback Brady McClurg. He was 1-of-2 through the air for 26 yards and a touchdown. He also ran once for 18 yards and a touchdown as well.
After forcing Livonia to punt on their first drive of the game, the Rivals drove down the field with ease. They averaged 13 yards a carry on their first drive that was capped off by a 27-yard rushing touchdown from Egeling.
The Bulldogs had an opportunity to tie the game up on their second drive. On third-and-8 from Livonia's own 26-yard line, junior quarterback Jack Henry threw a pass that was tipped by senior cornerback Xavier Bowen and was picked off by junior linebacker Dillon Alcott.
Le Roy/Caledonia-Mumford took advantage of the turnover. Egeling ran the ball 32 yards across the chalk for a touchdown, helping the Rivals extend their lead to 14-0.
The Rivals took their early offensive success into the second quarter. McClurg rolled out to his right and threw a 26-yard touchdown to Bowen, who was on a post route to the right sideline, to put the Rivals up by three scores.
After forcing a three-and-out, McClurg was able to waltz his way into the end zone from 18 yards out. However, a missed extra point kick from junior kicker Connor Elmore gave the Rivals a 27-0 lead.
Just like their offense and defense, Le Roy/Caledonia-Mumford was able to find success on special teams. Bowen returned a punt 32 yards to the end zone to add onto the Rivals' already large lead.
"I caught it, I look over to my right, see a wide open gap from my amazing blockers on my team," Bowen said. "And hey, saw the opportunity and took it..."
By the end of the first half, the Bulldogs were only able to record one first down on offense that came on their opening drive.
The Rivals didn't let up one bit in the third quarter. After returning the ball to their own 47-yard line off a kick off, Le Roy/Caledonia-Mumford marched 53 yards down the field to score thanks to a rushing touchdown from Boop. However, Elmore missed his second PAT, leaving the score at 40-0.
Livonia struggled to get anything going offensively in the second half. Although they recorded four first downs, the Bulldogs only picked up 39 yards that were all on carries, which wasn't enough for them to score before the game came to a close.
Le Roy/Caledonia-Mumford improves to 2-3 on the season and are now 1-1 in Section V Class C play. They currently sit in fourth place in Class C.
The Rivals will hope to improve their winning streak to two games when they hit the road to take on the 2-1 Haverling Rams next Friday. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
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