The Highland (Ainsworth - Riverside) - Lone Tree Raiders had their game faces on from the get - go Friday night as they rolled past Columbus Community 58-14.

“Fifty eight points? That must be a Raider record,” commented Raiders Coach Dan Dickel about the performance that spoiled the Wildcats Homecoming. He also told the team afterward, “It was a great win. Everybody played and everybody contributed. Our playoffs start next week. We win three and we have a winning season.”

The Raiders took full advantage of two early breaks to get into the lead and stayed there. On Columbus’ second play of the game Matt Bonebrake pounced on a fumble that set the Raiders up at the Wildcats 35. It took them just five plays to score. Josh Bonebrake started the drive with a 16 yard burst and finished it with a four yard run for the score. Nick Cole passed to Ryan Mills for the two point conversion and the score was 8-0 with 9:44 left in the first quarter.

The Raiders struck again quickly on their next possession. Columbus had returned the kickoff to its 35, but picked up only two yards in three plays and had to punt. The Raiders put on a big rush, with Mike Poch, Alex Lorack and Jason Sexton right in the punters face. Poch got the block and Sexton advanced the ball to the Columbus 13. Runs by Josh Bonebrake and Adam Morarie got the Raiders a first and goal at the one and Bonebrake took it in. Morarie carried for the conversion and the Raiders had staked themselves to a 16-0 lead with 7:19 left in the quarter. The Wildcats came right back, however. After returning the kickoff to their 27 they were sparked by a 47 yard Jacob Marin to Jeremy Marin pass and a 14 yard ramble by James McCullough. On the sixth play of the drive Trent Vrchoticky scored from the three. The two point conversion try failed and the score stood at 16-6 with 4:47 left in the quarter.

The Raiders matched that one quickly. Michael LaRoche returned the short kickoff to the 40 and the Raiders got an extra 15 yards on a face mask penalty. From the Columbus 45 it took the Raiders just three plays to score. A pass fell incomplete, Josh Bonebrake ran for 15 and then Matt Bonebrake put the ball in the end zone with a 30 yard scamper. The pass for the extra points failed when the receiver slipped and fell and the Raiders were on top 22-6 with 4:07 still left in the first quarter.

An interception by Josh Bonebrake at the Raiders 13 stopped the next Columbus drive. The Raiders got one first down and then a fumble was recovered by Columbus at the H-LT 29. Two 10 yard runs by McCullough sparked the six play drive, with Vrchoticky scoring from four yards out. McCullough carried for the conversion and Columbus was back in the game, trailing 22-14 with 9:51 left in the half. After the teams traded the ball a couple of times the Raiders got another drive going. Starting from their 21 with 2:54 left in the half, the Raiders scored in seven plays. The bomb was a 50 yard Cole to Joe Poch pass for the touchdown. Morarie carried for the conversion and H-LT led 30-14 with 0:38 left in the half.

If that touchdown at the end of the half wasn’t the killer, the Raiders first possession of the second half was. Taking the second half kickoff to their 34, the Raiders used just three plays to hit pay dirt. Morarie started the drive with a four yard run, Josh Bonebrake broke loose for 48 and Morarie then scored from the 14. Cole passed to Barnes for the conversion and the Raiders were on top 38-14 with 10:33 left in the third quarter. The Raiders had good field position again after forcing a Columbus punt, starting at the Wildcats 34. Using both the ground and the air the Raiders got to the three and Josh Bonebrake went in from there. The extra point try failed and it was 44-14 with 6:30 left in the third period.

Coach Dickel started getting what deeper reserves he had available into the game after that. The Raiders scored again on their next possession, starting late in the third quarter and carrying into the fourth. The 11 play drive, except for one Cole to Joe Poch pass, was strictly on the ground, with both Bonebrakes, Morarie, LaRoche and Dustin Lenz packing the pigskin. Lenz swung around left end for the final 14 yards for the score. The conversion failed and the Raiders had a 50-14 lead with 10:45 left in the game.

After some non - action, the Raiders got the ball at their 30 with 3:50 left in the game. With Joe Poch now at quarterback and Lenz and Matt Hora in the backfield behind him, the Raiders stayed strictly on the ground moving the ball. Lenz put an end to it, racing around his right end for 40 yards and a touchdown. Poch passed to Barnes for the conversion and the scoring was done, at 58-14, with 1:35 left in the game.

“It was fun to get everybody into the game and be successful,” said Dickel. “We haven’t scored in the first quarter all year. I was pleased with the second half. We tell the guys that halftime is nothing but a long time out. The play of the game might have been (the touchdown) at the end of the half. It must have surprised them. We have three toughies ahead.”

The Raiders picked up 26 first downs and had a net of 413 rushing in 56 carries. They completed eight of 11 passes for 96 yards and had one intercepted. The Raiders fumbled three times and lost two of them, and were penalized seven times for 70 yards. The big ground gainer for H-LT was Josh Bonebrake with 24 carries for 191 yards. Matt Bonebrake also picked up 47 yards on three carries, Morarie had 54 in 10 tries and Lenz made the most of his playing time with 68 yards in six carries.

Columbus had 10 first downs and a net of 136 yards rushing on 34 carries. They attempted 15 passes, completed six for 120 yards, and had two intercepted. The Wildcats fumbled four times and lost two, and were flagged three times for 40 yards. McCullough was their top runner with 93 yards in 17 carries.