No. 1 Buffs trample Longhorns

LOGAN - The Buffs were just too tough.

No. 1-ranked Melrose, scoring three touchdowns on its first five plays from the line of scrimmage, rolled to a 54-0 district victory over Logan during the Longhorns' Homecoming game in eight-man football action Friday night.

The game ended midway through the third quarter due to the mercy rule.

The Buffaloes (8-1, 3-0) came into the game known as a running team. But second-year coach Drew Hatley added a wrinkle by opening his squad's passing game.

Melrose ran the ball just five times in the first half. Instead, Buffs quarterback Josiah Roybal went 9-for-12 through the air for 193 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran for a score.

"We just wanted to work on more spread stuff," Hatley said. "We're a running team; that's how we built this team. But we need to work more on (passing) if another team takes the run away from us. We just want to work more towards November (in the playoffs)."

The Longhorns (6-3, 2-1) totaled just 34 yards of offense and committed two turnovers the Buffaloes returned for touchdowns. Melrose's defense made seven tackles for a loss of yardage.

"We took a lick tonight," Logan coach Dwayne Roberts said. "This is a really good football team. Fundamentally, they're strong. They fly to the ball. Drew has them coached up well.

"We've got to bounce back, forget about this one and prepare for next week."

The Longhorns also suffered a misfortune when linebacker and slot back Izaiah Kneitz fractured his nose on the game's first play. Kneitz hadn't worn his face shield for the first time Friday because he broke it during the previous week's Fort Sumner game.

Robert said the loss of Kneitz wiped out about half of his playbook.

"It affected us, but it wasn't the difference in the game," Roberts said of Kneitz's injury. "I don't want to take anything way from (Melrose) because they're a really good team."

It took Melrose two plays from scrimmage to score. Roybal connected on a 35-yard pass, then completed a 20-yarder pass to Josh Roybal for the touchdown just 9:40 into the game.

"We had prepared for the run all week, and we didn't expect that tonight," Roberts said of Melrose's passes.

On Melrose's next possession, quarterback Roybal took the snap and approached the line of scrimmage as if he were going to run. Logan's defense bit hard on run coverage. That let receiver Jaxon Odom slip behind defenders and catch Roybal's short pass and turn it into a 62-yard touchdown. No defender came within 10 yards of Odom.

"That was a good play," Roberts said. "Drew drew that one up. I want to see it on film, because it was a beautiful design."

"I might have to use that against him someday," he added, laughing.

Logan had trouble corralling a bouncing kickoff and nearly fumbled at its 3-yard line. The Longhorns soon were forced to punt from deep in their territory, and Melrose returned the kick to Logan's 24.

Odom caught a 14-yard pass on the Buffs' next series, setting up a 10-yard touchdown run by quarterback Roybal. Melrose had a 24-0 lead with more than five minutes left in the first quarter.

Logan's defense made a stop, forcing Melrose to punt. On fourth-and-9, Logan punter Brock Burns, also the team's quarterback, faked a kick and ran for a first down near midfield.

Two plays later, Burns tried to make a pitch on an option play, but Melrose's Brayden Eldridge picked up the loose ball and returned it 44 yards for a touchdown.

On Logan's next play, Melrose's Michael Cardonita picked off Burns' pass and returned it 31 yards for another score. The Buffs led 40-0 with more than nine minutes remaining in the half.

Melrose used six plays to score again late in the period, punctuated by Dathan Yeary's 7-yard touchdown reception.

After halftime, the Buffs gave the ball seven straight times to running back Carson Jones, including a 4-yard TD to end the game. Jones wound up being Melrose's top rusher with 65 yards in seven carries.

Roberts said there was no point in chewing out his team in the locker room after the game.

"I told them there's nothing we can do about tonight," he said. "We've got to start thinking about next week. This game's over. We have to prepare, and we have to get over this licking we took tonight. They understand that."

Logan hosts district foe Tatum at 7 p.m. Friday in the regular-season finale. Tatum (5-4, 0-3) lost 40-28 to Clayton on Friday night.

Melrose's victory sets up a de facto district championship game against visiting Fort Sumner (5-1, 2-1) on Friday, which suffered its only loss to Logan the previous week. Melrose's only loss this season was a 58-28 non-district decision at Mancos, Colorado, in August.

"It'll be a competitive game," Hatley said of Fort Sumner. "We have a ton of respect for those guys for what they did in football and basketball. We respect their kids and know how hard their coaches work. They'll be well-prepared, and we'll have to work hard this week. But we're excited for the opportunity."