By Staff
CASSOPOLIS – The host Rangers turned a close game into a rout in the second half of their Division 7 first round playoff game on Friday night.
Cassopolis (10-0) scored 28 unanswered points in the second half on its way to a 41-7 victory over the Beavers, who finished the year at 7-3.
Freshman DaShaun Curtis scored a pair of touchdowns, while Paul Curtis and Mike DeGraff added the other two scores for the Rangers, who will now host Decatur for the District championship on Friday night.
DaShaun Curtis staked the No. 1 ranked Rangers to a 13-0 first quarter lead when he scored on runs of 40- and a 6-yards.
The Rangers' Alex Olafsson connected on the first extra point, however, a bad snap on the second kick caused a miss-fire on the attempt.
The Beavers closed the gap to 13-7 at halftime when they scored their lone touchdown in the second quarter. P.J. Patterson returned a Cassopolis punt 52-yards and Tyler Renbarger added the extra point.
At halftime, the Rangers made some adjustments and got a lot more aggressive offensively.
DaShaun Curtis scored on a 22-yard run to make it a 19-7 lead after the two-point conversion run failed.
DeGraff found paydirt from 8-yards out to extend the Rangers' lead to 26-7 following Olafsson's kick.
Cassopolis completed the rout with two fourth quarter touchdowns.
Paul Curtis called his own number for a 1-yard quarterback sneak, while DaShaun Curtis capped the scoring with a 59-yard run.
Olafsson kicked the extra point on the Paul Curtis touchdown, while Terrance Moore scored a two-point conversion on the DaShaun Curtis score.
The Rangers finished the game with 370 yards rushing, led by DaShaun Curtis' 178 yards on 19 carries. Curtis now has 22 touchdowns on the season.
Cassopolis also got 91 yards from A.J. Ballard and 51 yards from Larry Harris.
The Ranger defense completely dominated the Beavers, limiting Eau Claire to 68 yards in total offense.
Patterson, who had rushed for more than 1,000 yards in the regular season, finished with just 22 stripes on 10 carries.
The Rangers and No. 6 ranked Raiders will tee it up at 7:30 p.m. on Friday night.
Decatur reached the title game with a 40-34 come-from-behind victory over Centreville. The Raiders (9-1), trailed the Bulldogs 34-16 at halftime.
The Raiders outscored Centreville 24-0 in the second half of the contest.
Eau Claire 0 7 0 0 – 7
Cassopolis 13 0 13 15 – 41
C – DaShaun Curtis 40 run (Alex Olafsson kick)
C – D. Curtis 6 run (kick failed)
E – P.J. Patterson 52 punt return (Tyler Renbarger kick)
C – D. Curtis 22 run (run failed)
C – Mike DeGraff 8 run (Olafsson kick)
C – Paul Curtis 1 run (Olafsson kick)
C – D. Curtis 59 run (Terence Moore run)