Some nights, everything goes your way. The first half definitely felt that way for the Malcolm football team during its Sept. 2 battle at Raymond Central. The No. 7 Clippers scored early and often on the way to a 38-13 rout of the Mustangs in a game dubbed the "Branched Oak Battle."
Lucas Christensen tore through the Raymond Central defense on the second play from scrimmage and rumbled 84 yards to put Malcolm on the board first.
“We were pretty hard on Lucas this week in practice,” Malcolm head coach Scott Amen said. “We knew he was capable of so much more than he showed us last week.
“We know how good Lucas can be. He’s not a finesse back. This week he attacked the defense. He broke two or three tackles on almost every carry.”
The senior tailback punched it in again from 10 yards out later in the first quarter after a Maddox Meyer interception and 37-yard return gave Malcolm the ball at midfield.
Christensen finished the night with 117 yards on eight carries and three touchdowns. He had a fourth touchdown called back when a holding call negated a 90-yard run.
On the first play of the second quarter, Hayden Frank picked off Rylan Stover and returned the ball 45 yards to the Mustangs’ one-yard line. Frank punched it in one play later on a quarterback sneak to put the Clippers up 19-0.
Two plays after the kickoff, Stover threw his third interception of the half as Elliott Robotham snatched a slant pass and took it back 33 yards for a touchdown.
The Mustangs got on the board with 11 seconds remaining in the half when Stover bought time on a scramble play and found Reid Otto in the back of the end zone.
“I was disappointed we gave up that score,” Amen said. “We had all the momentum and then let them march down the field on us to close out the half.”
After Malcolm stopped the Mustangs on the opening drive of the second half, the Clippers drove down the field on a drive capped off by a Christensen two-yard run.
The Clippers’ final touchdown of the night came when Josh Fox took the ball down the left sideline for a 38-yard score. The sophomore had 40 yards on two carries.
“Josh comes in and makes a difference,” Amen said. “Not only is he giving our starters a breather, but he runs hard.”
Colt Reiling added 48 yards on five carries. The senior split his time at both fullback and I-back.
“Colt showed us some things we’d not seen from him,” Amen said. “He’s going to be a weapon for us from the I-back position.”
Malcolm (2-0) welcomes Oakland-Craig (1-1) for homecoming this Friday.
“They’re going to be tough,” Amen said. “They’re big. Big tight end. Some big linemen. They throw the ball well. Hopefully, we come ready to play.”
