Reid Roelofs, No. 1 in your program, was the No. 1 thorn in the side of the home team.
Roelofs, a 6-foot-4, 175-pound senior wide receiver/defensive back, intercepted two passes — returning one for a touchdown — and reeled in a TD pass on offense to lead visiting Life Christian Academy to a 49-21 victory over Rainier in 2B Pacific League football Friday night.
Roelofs did most of his damage in the first half as the Eagles took a 27-7 lead, but Life Christian quarterback Jack Hohimer wasn’t done. The 6-0 senior threw two long scoring passes in the second half to go with two short TD throws in the first.
“We took some huge steps toward what we can become,” Hohimer said.
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“Every week, are we closing our performance gap, getting better?” Life Christian coach Jess Nelson said. “In all three phases, we closed our gap tonight.”
Life Christian improved to 4-1 for the season (4-1 in the 2B Pacific League) to take a strong position for one of five Pacific playoff berths. Rainier (4-3, 3-3) remains in the postseason hunt.
Will VanderFeltz opened the scoring for the Eagles, snagging a 12-yard TD pass from Hohimer. Roelofs’ 50-yard interception return bumped the Eagles’ lead to 13-0.
As the second quarter opened, the Mountaineers’ fortunes changed when they turned to Ian Russell. The 225-pound sophomore carried four times for 38 yards on an 11-play, 50-yard drive, capped off by his 16-yard TD burst up the middle.
Late in the first half, on fourth-and-4 at the Rainier 10-yard line, the Eagles called on Ryder Blake, usually a tackle on both sides of the ball. The 245-pounder lined up in the backfield, took a handoff and rumbled mostly untouched up the middle to the goal line.
Hohimer got to work after halftime, finding Wyatt Dunlap on a textbook screen play for a 60-yard score, then hitting Michael McKay for a 79-yard touchdown on the next possession.
Rainier clawed back, with junior Devan Stancil hauling in a 63-yard scoring pass from freshman Zach Lofgren, one of three Rainier quarterbacks in the game. Israel Elwell inched the Mountaineers within 42-21 with a 7-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
But it wasn’t enough. Dunlap closed the night’s scoring with a 15-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter.
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