Hendricks helps Royals turn back winless Baker
BAKER — Something had to give as Jay and Baker squared off in their final District 1-1A game of the 2009 campaign.
The Gators were in search of their first win of the season and the Royals were seeking a victory for the first time since their opener.
Led by Rush Hendricks’ 136 rushing yards on 28 carries, the Royals took to the ground and amassed 254 yards rushing to beat the Gators 21-7.
When Hendricks wasn’t doing the damage, Chris Carrigan took charge.
Carrigan gained 92 yards on 22 carries, providing Jay with a potent one-two punch.
With the ground game clicking on all cylinders, Jay quarterback Stephen Brabham didn’t get much of a chance to throw the ball. And it really didn’t matter that he was only 3 of 7 for 36 yards.
About the only thing that stopped the Royals (2-6, 2-6) were their own mistakes.
The Royals’ defense was just as impressive as the offense, holding Baker to 150 yards in total offense.
Baker (0-9, 0-8) took the opening kick and Jay forced a three-and-out. The Royals started their first possession on their own 26 and marched downfield on a 15-play drive only to lose a fumble inside the Baker 10.
The fumble delayed Jay’s first score by only a few minutes.
After forcing another punt, the Royals got the ball on the Baker 41 and marched 10 plays for a touchdown. Brabham capped the drive with a 3-yard scoring run with 8:34 left in the half.
The scored remained 7-0 in favor of the Royals until late in the second quarter when Baker mounted its only scoring drive of the night.
Starting on their own 36 with 2:22 left in the period, the Gators combined the passing of Logan Wagner with a strong rushing attack to move in for the score.
Wagner completed four passes for 29 yards in the drive. None was bigger than an 11-yard completion to Vada Moore on a busted play that gave Baker a first down at the 50.
Wagner mishandled the shotgun snap, but kept his composure and calmly picked up the ball and found Moore open for the big gain.
A 14-yard run by Justyn Lewis and a 15-yard run by David Beck moved the Gators deep in Royal territory.
Dakota Hooper put the Gators on the scoreboard from a yard out with 40 seconds left in the first half.
Baker’s defense stiffened to open the second half as the Gators forced a punt on Jay’s first possession.
The next time the Royals got the ball, they drove 78 yards on 13 plays with Hendricks scoring from a yard out.
In a season when nothing has gone right for the Gators, a questionable call of offensive pass interference helped stall Baker’s ensuing drive and swing the momentum back into the Royal camp where it remained the rest of the game.
Jay closed out the scoring with a 1-yard run by Dakota Broughton with 6:28 left in the fourth quarter.
“Our kids played hard every night and they did again,” Baker coach Bob Kellogg said. “We knew (they would have trouble) if the Hendricks kid was back.
“He’s a man and he’s hard to stop. That was the factor in the game, they could control the ball and we couldn’t stop them.”
JAY 0 7 7 7—21
BAKER 0 7 0 0—0
Second quarter
J – Stephen Brabham 3 run (Todd Laney kick); 8:34
B – Dakota Hooper 1 run (David Beck kick); 0:40
Third quarter
J – Rush Hendricks 1 run (Laney kick); 3:07
Fourth quarter
J – Dakota Broughton 1 run (Laney kick); 6:28
Jay Baker
First downs 18 7
Rushes-yards 61-254 20-61
Passing yards 36 89
Comp.-Att.-Int. 3-7-0 8-14-1
Fumbles-lost 2-1 1-0
Penalties-yards 4-30 5-35
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Jay: Chris Carrigan 22-92, Rush Hendricks 28-136, Stephen Brabham 7-12, Dakota Broughton 4-14. Baker: Vada Moore 8-11, David Beck 2-15, Dakota Hooper 4-3, Justin Lewis 3-29, Tyrell Gardner 1-0, Logan Wagner 2-4.
PASSING— Jay: Stephen Brabham 3-7-0 36. Baker: Logan Wagner 8-14-1 61.
RECEIVING— Jay: Steven James 2-32, Dakota Brougton 1-4. Baker: Dakota Hooper 1-8, Vada Moore 2-16, Justyn Lewis 4-61, Christian Mainor 1-4.
