Ground game paves way for Midwest City’s first victory
Midwest City’s Derrion Rodgers (6) runs the ball during a high school football game between Midwest City High School and Putnam North High School, in Oklahoma City, on Friday, Sept. 15. Photo by Nathan Fish | Oklahoman
By Jacob Sturm
Midwest City Beacon
OKLAHOMA CITY — Midwest City running back Lasiera Laviolette had plenty of green grass in front of him early and often during the Bombers’ 31-13 victory at Putnam City North on Friday night.
He wasn’t the only one.
The Bombers (1-2) wielded a balanced attack from Laviolette, Jaylan Woody and Derrion Rodgers most of the evening, with the trio splitting carries in the plays of consequence. The effects from the shared load seemed to show the success for coach Darrell Hall’s squad, with Laviolette dashing in on a 20-yard touchdown with 7:28 left in the opening quarter before following it up with a 14-yard sprint the goal line on the second play of the second quarter.
The split share of snaps also is proving itself useful for Midwest City beyond the showing Friday evening.
“It keeps everybody fresh and it makes them work hard in practice because if you’re not having a good practice, you’re going to get less snaps,” Hall said regarding the running game management. “…Those guys understand those snaps they’re going to get, they have to earn them. So, that’s a good thing.”
And earn them they did. Woody finished with 12 carries for 118 yards and a touchdown, while Rodgers followed suit with 11 carries for 102 yards. Laviolette tallied 11 carries for 63 yards and two touchdowns.
Woody busted a third quarter handoff 63 yards, and closed the scoring for the Bombers with a 15-yard run with 5:10 to play to seal Midwest City’s victory.
The Bombers’ offense also played sound with the ball and didn’t add much extra pressure to the defense with field position favoring Midwest City for long stretches.
“It’s the little things we fixed,” Laviolette said. “The last two weeks we’ve been beating ourselves a lot on the little things (with) self-turnovers. And this week, I don’t think we had any turnovers on offense.”
The game also offered more opportunities for Midwest City quarterback Kenneth Colston to thrive. He finished 15 of 26 for 123 yards and a touchdown pass to Devin Sissons. Hall said Colston keeps improving and is getting an even better grasp of the offense. That was on display this past Friday night.
Add in the efforts of the Bombers’ defense in forcing two early PC North interceptions, and that meant a comfortable win down the stretch.
The defense held PC North out of the end zone on multiple attempts near the goal line in the final minute of the opening half.
“It was a big stop right before halftime because it took the momentum away,” Hall said. “It could have been tighter (at that point)…We’re having less busts, and our jobs is to run to the ball and tackle well. We had three misalignments. We fixed some of that. We did a better job of tackling.”
Midwest City will next be in action against Altus on Friday night at Rose Field.
