By Chuck Reherman
Sports Editor
Southwest Covenant went into Friday night’s matchup with Coyle expecting their biggest challenge of the season.
The No. 3 ranked Patriots passed that test with flying colors.
Southwest Covenant rolled to a 35-6 first half lead and went on post a 48-24 district C-3 win over Coyle Friday night at Patriot Field.
The Patriots improved to 6-0 overall and 3-0 in the district race tied with Covington-Douglas for the district lead. CDHS is 6-1 overall. The two teams will collide Friday at Patriot Field for sole lead in the district race.
Coyle was a pre-season favorite in the district race and came in with an experienced team. But the Patriots took control of the game early and were never really challenged in the contest.
The game was the first time this season that the Patriots have been taken into the fourth quarter of a game. It was the first time this season that SWCS has had to play a full 48-minute game.
“The team played really well tonight,” Patriot head coach Trey Cloud said. “We knew Coyle would be a good test for us, but the boys answered the call and did what they needed to do to get the win.
“The win does put us in a good position, but we know we have a couple more challenging games ahead of us and we can’t let up,” he said. “This group wants to surpass what we accomplished last year and they are focusing on that.”
Coyle was the first team this season to surpass 200 yards of offense against the Patriot defense and the 24 points was the most the team has allowed this year.
The offense did have 356 yards of offense and ran the most plays in one game that they have run all season.
SWCS took the initial lead on their opening possession. Quarterback Ben Webb capped the drive with a 12-yard touchdown run. Webb ran in the conversion to open an 8-0 lead.
The Patriots added to their lead on their second possession on a 25-yard run by Tyler Kelly to open a 14-0 lead.
Webb, who had a break out night with 257 yards of total offense and accounted for four touchdowns, rushed for a second score early in the second quarter. Webb kept the ball on an option play and went 50-yards for the touchdown.
He connected with Trevor Kelly on a 51-yard touchdown pass later in the second quarter and after the defense forced a turnover to open a 28-0 lead.
Coyle scored on a 60-yard Robert Taylor run to cut the lead to 28-6. But, Webb tossed a 53-yard pass to Will Haas to open a 35-6 halftime lead.
Coyle tried to make a comeback and used a Brendan Weathers 25-yard touchdown run to close the lead to 35-14. Tyler Kelly’s seven-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter opened a 42-14 lead.
The Bluejackets cut the lead to 42-22 on a Damon Caine Jr. 42-yard touchdown pass from Weathers, but the Patriots put the game out of reach on a 43-yard run from Will Haas.
Webb led the Patriot ground game with 110 yards on 10 carries. Tyler Kelly jad 44 on six and Haas 43 on one. Webb also completed seven of 10 passes for 147 yards. Trevor Kelly caught four of those passes for 80 yards.
