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Smith carries Ravens to victory

RINDGE – Junior running back Kobie Smith turned in a workhorse effort by carrying the ball 33 times for 257 yards to lead a 288-yard rushing attack by Franklin Piece in its 28-14 victory over Post on Saturday in Collegiate Sprint Football League North Division play at Sodexo Field.

The Ravens erased a 14-0 second-quarter deficit and improved to 1-1 (1-0 CSFL North). Post fell to 0-2 (0-2 CSFL North).

Neither team could get on the board in the first quarter, before Post capitalized on a special teams miscue to open the scoring early in the second quarter. Facing fourth-and-15 on the Post 41-yard line, a bad snap went over the head of junior punter Matthew Toombs, who tracked down the ball and fell on it at the Franklin Pierce 31, for a loss of 28 and a turnover on downs. Using the short field, Post needed six plays and 31 yards to find the end zone.

The Ravens nearly pulled out the stop, as they forced the Eagles into a fourth-and-10 situation at the Franklin Pierce 20. Post kept the offense on the field though and senior quarterback Buddy Enriquez found senior wide receiver Ladarrius Phillips over the middle and in the end zone for a 20-yard touchdown pass.

Franklin Pierce went three-and-out on its next drive, which Post followed up with another touchdown. Taking over on the plus side of midfield, the Eagles went six plays and 44 yards to the end zone this time, capping things off with an 18-yard touchdown rush by freshman running back Davion Williams, who recovered his own fumble on the play.

After the ensuing kickoff, the teams traded fumbles on back-to-back plays, which left Franklin Pierce with a drive starting at its own 45-yard line. Smith carried 5 yards on the drive, for a total of 52 yards on what would be a six-play, 55-yard scoring drive. Freshman running back Cameron Johnson  capped things off with a 3-yard touchdown plunge to cut the gap in half.

The Post offense followed with a three-and-out, which allowed the Ravens to tie the game before halftime. Taking over at their own 30, the Ravens again relied on Smith, who would rush for 44 yards on a seven-play, 70-yard touchdown drive. Smith capped the drive as well, slicing into the end zone on an eight-yard touchdown carry.

The 70-yard drive would not even be the signature drive of the game for the Ravens, as that would come in the fourth quarter to break the 14-14 tie. Franklin Pierce took over at its own 5-yard line for the final play of the third quarter, which was a four-yard rush by Smith. On the second play on the other side of the quarter break, sophomore quarterback Jared Lubas scampered for 15 yards to convert on third-and-7 to keep the drive alive. Later, the Ravens would face fourth-and-1 at the Post 30, which Lubas converted as well, with a three-yard rush. Fittingly, Lubas capped off the 12-play, 95-yard scoring drive on his own, as he got loose on the left side for a 21-yard touchdown run to put Franklin Pierce out front, 21-14.

After forcing a punt, the Ravens would cap the scoring with 1:18 to play, with a touchdown to put the game away. Franklin Pierce kept the ball on the ground exclusively on the drive to chew the clock. Still, the Ravens never even faced a third-down situation, as they went eight plays and 71 yards for the score, which was a 2-yard touchdown rush by Smith.

Smith stole the show offensively for the Ravens with his 257 rushing yards, which was the second-highest rushing total of his career (269 at Caldwell on 10/28/17). Johnson added nine carries for 40 yards (4.4 yards per carry) and a score, while Lubas chipped in nine carries for 38 yards (4.2 yards/carry) and his touchdown as well.

Lubas attempted eight passes on the day and completed five of them for 50 yards, and was sacked once. Sophomore wideout Tionne Brown was on the receiving end of four of those completions, for a total of 43 yards.

Defensively, freshmen Keoni Gaskin and Johnathan Rodgers racked up seven tackles apiece, while the former forced a fumble and the latter recorded an interception. Nine different Ravens recorded at least a half-sack on the day.

For Post, Williams was the leading rusher, as he went for 64 yards and a score on 19 carries (3.4 yards per carry). Enriquez went 14-for-23 for 124 yards and a touchdown through the air, but was also intercepted once and sacked five times. Phillips caught five passes for 35 yards and a touchdown.

Defensively for the Eagles, freshman defensive back Jaylen Rivera piled up a game-high 13 tackles (nine solo). Freshman linebacker Anthony Madera added eight tackles (four solo) and a fumble recovery.

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