Rummel runs to victory over St. Augustine, 24-14

NEW ORLEANS – One week after being bullied in the trenches, the Rummel Raiders dominated the line of scrimmage to break their two-game losing streak with a 24-14 victory over the St. Augustine Purple Knights at Yulman Stadium.

Rummel (4-2, 2-2) surrendered 267 yards on the ground to Holy Cross in a loss last week but the Raiders racked up 266 yards on the ground in their bounce-back performance.

The St. Augustine defensive line was worn down thanks to the strong running of Raiders sophomore Jaidyn Martin.

“’Speedy’ ran his butt off tonight,” said Rummel head coach Nick Monica about Martin’s performance. “We had a good week of practice. I don’t know if last week’s performance had anything to do with it, but the offensive line really practiced hard all week and it showed tonight.”

Martin carried the Raiders on his shoulders with 26 rushes for 188 yards with a touchdown. He also tallied an additional 35 yards receiving.

Rummel quarterback Casey Avrard also contributed to the solid offensive performance, utilizing his legs and quick thinking to scramble for a 28-yard touchdown on 4^th and 10 to tie the game at 7-7 just seconds before halftime. For the game, the junior racked up 52 yards on seven carries and threw for 133 yards on 13 of 30 passing.

“Casey played well, but I think he’d like to have a few of those throws back,” said Monica of his Junior Quarterback’s night.

St. Augustine (1-5, 0-4) struggled to establish consistent success on offense all night. Senior quarterback Dylan Devezin displayed his impressive arm strength with numerous deep throws but rarely was able to connect with his intended targets.

Devezin finished 10 of 22 for 169 yards with an interception and a touchdown.

The Purple Knights fared no better in the ground game. Sophomore Anthony Young and senior Carl Singleton could only muster 40 and 47 yards respectively against a disciplined Rummel defense.

St. Augustine struck first on their first and only possession of the 2^nd quarter. Starting at their own 19-yard line, the Purple Knights dialed up six straight runs, pushing the ball across midfield to the Rummel 35-yard line. Three plays later, Devison connected with Javen Nicholas on the near sideline. He evaded two Raider tacklers to punch it into the end zone to give St. Augustine a 7-0 lead with 1:58 to play in the half.

Rummel immediately answered the score. Starting at their own 24-yard line, the Raiders quickly faced 3^rd and 10 when Avrard connected with Martin on a screen pass for 35 yards to the St. Augustine 41-yard line. The drive appeared likely to stall out as Rummel faced 4^th and 10 at the St. Augustine 28-yard line but Avrard rolled out of the pocket to his right, tucked the ball and took it to the house fora 28-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 7-7 with nine seconds to play before halftime.

Rummel found offensive success quickly on the first possession of the second half.

Following Avrard’s connection with Tyronne Hayes for 31-yards to put the Raiders at the St. Augustine 19-yard line, freshman La’Damion McDowell bounced off left tackle and dove into the end zone three plays later for a six-yard touchdown.

Rummel stretched their lead early in the 4^th quarter after an interception at the St. Augustine 43-yard line. A steady diet of handoffs to Martin moved the Raiders to the Purple Knights two-yard line but the Raiders settled for a 19-yard Jacob Barba field goal to increase the Rummel lead 17-7 with 9:12 to go.

However, St. Augustine would not go quietly. On the ensuing possession, 24-yard and 25-yard passes from Devezin on consecutive plays set up Singleton’s two-yard scoring run to draw the Purple Knights to within three at 17-14 with 7:04 remaining.

Needing a long drive to run down the clock, the Raiders instead put the game out of reach on their next possession.

An 11-play drive spanning 72 yards featured a steady diet of Martin and McDowell runs, eating up clock. Martin iced the game with an eight-yard touchdown run at the 2:20 mark.

Rummel will look to keep their momentum going next Saturday afternoon when they take on rival John Curtis. St. Augustine ‘s pursuit of their first district victory continued when they host Archbishop Shaw on Saturday.