MASON CITY- Homecoming was nothing short of a success for the Mason City Riverhawks.
The Riverhawks dominated previously undefeated Charles City, 49-14, Friday.
Javel Lee dominated the night rushing for five touchdowns and more than 200 rushing yards for Mason City.
Mason City scored within the first two minutes of play and never looked back as the Riverhawks banded together to overcome what looked like an impossible obstacle in the form of the Comets.
“We have a ton of respect for Charles City when they come in 3-0,” Mason City head coach Josh Reuter said. “They played some good football leading up to this matchup. Our kids were highly motivated to play well for their homecoming game. We have been getting guys back healthy and we’re pretty close to being at full strength. They were excited to play together, for what feels like the first time this season.”
Here are key takeaways from Friday’s game.
Mason City starts off with a bang
The Riverhawks started firing down the field from the moment they caught the kick return to start the game.
It took only four plays and 1 minute and 51 seconds for Mason City to get on the scoreboard on a 38-yard throw from Jameer Falls to Drew Hobart. The Riverhawks missed the two-point conversion but were up 6-0.
After a quick stop from the defense, the Mason City offense was back on the attack. This time Lee was the focal point of their offense before Falls connected with TyAndre Sanchez-Evans for a 21-yard touchdown pass and Falls 2-point conversion pass to Drayden Witt made it 14-0 less than eight minutes into the contest.
“Something we have been trying to do is start fast and play fast the whole night,” Reuter said. “We haven’t been able to put together four quarters yet, but tonight we were able to do that for the first time. That’s just something that we have been preaching is trying to get going right away and keeping our foot on the gas as we go.”
Javel Lee steals the show
Lee had himself a day. He took the home the crown of Homecoming King earlier in the day and finished the night with one of the best performances of the entire game. Going into tonight’s game, Lee had 88 yards and one touchdown over the course of the first three games of the season.
Those numbers changed dramatically against the Comets.
Lee’s second touchdown came on his biggest play of the night when he broke free from a tackle and sprinted 53 yards to the house for the Riverhawks’ third touchdown of the night. He had two touchdowns before the clock hit eight minutes remaining in the second quarter and his night was far from over.
“Putting up stats like that, you can’t only rely on yourself, and you can’t just congratulate yourself,” Lee said. “You have to put your team first. I couldn’t do a lot of the things that I did tonight without my O-Line.”
Lee hit the end zone yet again with 0:23 remaining in the first half with a two-yard run after an 11-yard pass to Drew Hobart and an eight-yard rush from Lee himself to get the Riverhawks in the red zone for the 28-0 edge.
Lee was temporarily relieved of his scoring duties in the third quarter when Falls buried a three-yard pass to Lincoln Berding after a successful drive highlighted by a 26-yard rush from Lee to make the game 35-0.
Comets battle back
Charles City did not go down without a fight.
After the Riverhawks’ fifth touchdown of the night, they knew that they needed to be meticulous about how they moved the ball down the field.
Throughout the night, the Riverhawks were able to subdue the explosive power of running back Deacon Caspers, but he became uncontrollable in the third quarter. He marched the ball down the field and the Riverhawks were not able to stop him. He had seven consecutive carries in a late third quarter drive by the Comets capped off by a nine-yard touchdown run and a two-point conversion to match to make the game 35-8.
The Riverhawks responded instantly with a three-play drive after recovering the Comets’ onside kick at their own 40-yard line. Berding caught a catch from Falls for nine yards and Hobart followed him with a 37-yard reception. Lee capped it off with a 14-yard touchdown to make the score 42-8.
Charles City had yet another meticulous drive highlighted by explosive runs from Caspers. Caspers helped the Comets move from their own 25-yard line to the Riverhawks’ 18-yard line. Caspers had one rush for 13 yards and another for five to score his second touchdown of the night. The extra-point was blocked giving the Riverhawks the lead of 42-14.
Capping off the night
The Riverhawks concluded the game with yet another monster play by Lee to extend their lead. After a 23-yard pass from Falls to Witt, Lee rushed to the house from the 32-yard line for a touchdown. After it was called back due to a penalty from the Riverhawks, Lee pulled a case of déjà vu and repeated his touchdown performance to score his fifth touchdown of the night.
“It’s good to have Javel back,” Reuter said. “He’s been back for a couple of games, and he ran so hard, and the line did a great job blocking for him. When you have a young quarterback who has done well, having a good running game around him makes a huge difference. Javel did a great job of taking care of the ball and got tough yards when we needed them.”
The Riverhawks improved their record to 2-2 on the season while the Comets move to 3-1.
Up Next: The Riverhawks host Decorah on Friday while the Comets host the undefeated Algona Bulldogs.
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