Blazers take a bite out of Bengals

As the JV Football team sauntered off the field at Blazer Stadium Thursday night, a wide grin appeared on the face of sophomore Milton Colquehon. Colquehon and his teammates had just wrapped up a 27-0 thrashing of the Blake Bengals, a game highlighted by Blair's superior team defense and efficient offensive production. The win tips the Blazers' record to 5-4 on the season.

With only one game left on the schedule, head coach Adrian Kelly was pleased to see his team perform at such a high level. "Heading into the last game, at this point and time a lot of players have stepped their game up," said Kelly, who praised the work of the Blazers' offensive line and defense.

Led by Colquehon's eight tackles, the inspired defense held the Bengals to less than 90 yards of total offense for the game. In the first half, Blake's offense totaled negative yardage and gained just one first down off a questionable pass interference penalty.

Blair's offense featured a multi-faceted rushing attack that gained more than 150 yards on the ground as a team. Sophomore Clifford Gossin rushed for 46 yards on 11 carries, while Colquehon ran for 14 yards and a touchdown on 3 red-zone carries. Freshman Keith Ayensu also rumbled for 16 yards and a touchdown on 5 carries.

The Blazers scored one touchdown in each of the four quarters of the game, scoring first on an eight-play, 46-yard drive late in the first quarter. The drive was capped off by a three-yard touchdown run by Colquehon, who seemed to be channeling Jerome Bettis on his way to the goal line. The score, which put the Blazers up 6-0, proved to be the game's winning touchdown.

Late in the second quarter, after a strong Blair defensive stand, freshman quarterback Terrance Kelly, Jr. got in on the running game. Kelly, Jr. scrambled for 50 yards on two consecutive carries, including a Michael Vick-like 39-yard run on which the frosh broke several tackles and spun his way into the open field before scampering into the endzone. The SportsCenter-worthy play got Blair supporters out of their seats and the Blazers fired up. "It was supposed to be a pass, but the inside was clogged, so I had to cut it back around," said a modest Kelly, Jr.

Gossin pounded in the two-point conversion to put Blair up 14-0 going into halftime. The start of the second half marked the unraveling of the Bengals' offense, which began their first drive of the half with consecutive penalties and a high snap from the shotgun formation. Taking over on the Blake 45 yard-line, the Blazers had great field position starting their first drive of the second half.

After power running from Gossin led the Blazers inside Blake's 5 yard-line, coach Kelly decided to go to the air. However, consecutive incompletions by backup quarterback Che Larracuente intended for Colquehon and a false start penalty left Blair facing a fourth down and eight yards to go from the 10 yard-line. Kelly's decision to go for it on fourth down with a 14-point lead may have left some second-guessing, but not the JV Blazers. Larracuente, a sophomore, dropped back, checked off his receivers and found a wide-open Gossin in the flat. Gossin found space and dove into the endzone to put the Blazers up 20-0.

With a 20-0 lead going in to the fourth quarter, some teams might relax. But the JV Blazers kept the pressure on the Bengals, recovering a Blake fumble with just under five minutes to play. Taking over inside Blake's 20 yard-line, Blair made quick work of the short field in front of them, handing off four straight times to Ayensu, who finally cracked the endzone with just over two minutes left in the game.

Up 27-0, the Blazers held their ground despite an 8-play, 62-yard last minute drive by the Bengals, stopping Blake's offense on the goal line as the final whistle blew. The final goal line stand proved the Blazers' pride and was symbolic of the rest of the game, dominated by Blair's hard-hitting and alert defense.

The Blazers' win cemented coach Kelly's notion that the team is better than its record suggests. "We are 5-4 right now, but we should be 9-0," Kelly said.

"We are probably going to be losing players to Varsity," said the coach, whose team will likely be without Kelly, Jr. and other potential varsity call-ups for the last game of the season. Blair wraps up their 2005 season next week against powerhouse Damascus. "I think they are undefeated," Kelly said with a cringe. But, he declared, "We are about to blow them out."