H.S. Football: Fast start leads to smooth finish for Columbia against Northwestern

COLUMBIA TWP. — It didn't take long for Columbia to take control of Friday's non-conference game against Northwestern. Senior Jose Rivera intercepted Leonardo Guidetti's second pass attempt of the night and returned it 29 yards to the 1-yard line to set up his own score a play later. It give the Raiders all the points they would need with 10:20 still to play in the first quarter.Columbia (3-0) rolled to a 49-0 win over the Huskies. "I just needed to dive for it, and I didn't," said Rivera of the near pick-six to start the game. "Bad business decision, but next game I'll know what to do. It'll be better." Rivera, one of three backs to rush for over 50 yards for Columbia on Friday, shouldn't have been too hard on himself. The Raiders dominated, outgaining Northwestern 443-60 on the night to capture their eighth straight win over Northwestern (0-3). "Coach (Mike) Rice said he had to let me get the ball after that," said Rivera. "It was nice. We definitely didn't underestimate our opponent. We played hard the entire time, but we knew we were the better team. We were stronger, faster, smarter." Rivera, who finished with 110 yards on the ground, was right. Columbia pretty much controlled the game from start to finish. It scored on its first three possessions, counting the interception return to set up the first drive. By halftime, it was 35-0, and the clock ran the entire second half. Junior quarterback Logan Menge's deft ballhandling led to a 50-yard score on a keeper. Menge finished with 102 yards on the ground and added 67 more through the air, connecting on both pass attempts. Xavier Henden finished with 56 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns. "He was not brought up as a quarterback," Rice said of Menge's ability to run the option. "We moved him there last year. What we love about him is his composure and his decision-making. He's really working on becoming a great ballhandler and decision-maker. The credit is to him for that." "The first two weeks we didn't get a quick start like we wanted," said Menge, who is Columbia's point guard in basketball and shortstop in baseball. "It was nice coming out here and getting a fast start, getting up early and shutting them down." Rice was just as thrilled with his defense that held Northwestern to five first downs. "Our defense has been really good for three straight games," he said. "They set us up for multiple scores already this year. I can think of two last week and obviously that one right off the bat (Friday) and a couple Week 1. Defense has been playing lights out. Flying around. We love their physicality. "Anytime you can start 3-0 going into the conference, you feel good about it. There's clearly things we've got to work on, and that's our job as coaches to find that stuff." Columbia will host Wellington on Friday to open Lorain County League play. Contact Tim Gebhardt at (440) 329-7135 or timothygeb@msn.com.