JACKSON — The Saxony Lutheran Crusaders finished the regular season undefeated at home with a 38-13 victory over Priory Friday night.
The Crusaders jumped out to a 14-0 lead before the Priory offense could even possess the ball. Following an onside kick on the opening kickoff, it took just two plays, both Alan Rudd rushes, to get to the end zone and take a 7-0 lead with the extra point.
Saxony then recovered a second consecutive onside kick, and slowly drove the ball down the field, taking just over half the quarter to score again, this time on a Rudd direct snap run that went for 19 yards. The extra kick made it 14-0.
Priorys first offensive possession only lasted four plays, as the Crusader defense forced a fourth and short, and a tackle for loss to get the ball back in good field position on a turnover on downs.
With the ball back once again, the Crusaders continued to run the ball effectively, dominating time of possession and taking their next drive into the second quarter, it also ended in points, however this time on a 33-yard field goal from AJ Sawyers.
Midway through the second quarter, Priory had the ball on offense for just the second time, and was forced to punt after a short drive, the punt pinned the Crusaders inside their own 10-yard line, but this did not stop the Saxony running game from scoring another touchdown before halftime, on Rudd’s third touchdown of the game. The extra point gave the Crusaders a 24-0 halftime lead.
Both teams traded turnovers and punts in the third quarter before Saxony scored again, Alan Rudd ran the ball 37-yards for his fourth touchdown of the game to bring the score to 31-0 after the extra point.
The first passing touchdown for Saxony, their final touchdown of the game, followed early in the fourth quarter when quarterback Bryce Gaebler found freshman wide receiver Camden Payne for a 38-yard touchdown pass.
The extra point made the game 38-0 and gave the Crusaders a running clock for the final 10 minutes.
Priory was able to score twice in the final 10 minutes with a 60-yard touchdown pass and a quarterback keeper, as well as an onside kick recovery of their own to keep the game from being a shutout. After the two scores, the Ravens tried another onside kick, but the Crusaders special teams unit fell on it, allowing the offense to enter victory formation and take the 38-13 victory.
Head coach OJ Turner said earlier in the season that finishing the regular season undefeated at home was one of the team’s goals, a goal the Crusaders were able to accomplish even with a team affected by injuries.
“We got pretty beat up last week, so at the end of the day I kind of talked to my kids about kids stepping up,” Turner said. We had Gaebler at quarterback today, he took that challenge very seriously and came out and played his butt off, so we’re super proud of that. I think we had some added energy with our first fall fest and having a lot of alumni coming home. Being on the field at home is a big deal. So kids are super excited to kind of keep that streak going. And I think they came up and had a lot of energy and were ready to play because of it.”
With the win, Saxony Lutheran will get to host its first ever home playoff game, with the winner going on to face St. Vincent in Perryville on Friday, Nov. 6.
“There have been a lot of firsts for us,” Turner said. “Fall fest, homecoming, so we’re super excited to have all these things coming. The kids are very excited to be able to have it here.”
Kickoff against New Madrid County Central in the first round of the Class 2 State Tournament will be at 7:00 from Bennett Stadium this Friday night.
