March 28, 2024

Tigerhawks trump Southeast Warren

COLFAX — Colfax-Mingo’s football team will take on Van Meter this Friday in its first look at a district opponent. Tigerhawks coach Jeff Lietz has installed a quick-strike offense that has put up 113 points through two victories. Lietz knows the competition is about to get a lot stiffer for the Tigerhawks.

“They’re a very tough opponent, no doubt about it,” Lietz said. “It’s going to be a good challenge for our guys. We need to be ready for them.”

Van Meter has started off the 2013 season on fire, with wins of 35-0 and 35-7 so far on the season. Bulldogs running back Cody Blackwell and quarterback Brandon Brittain each had more than 150 yards rushing against Madrid on Friday, Sept. 6, and their roster is packed with seniors and juniors, a luxury the Tigerhawks do not have.

“We’re going to prepare the best we can,” Lietz said. “They have an all-district QB. We’re going to have our hands full containing their spread offense. They’re experienced, a lot of seniors. So it’s their experience against our inexperience. This will be good to see if our guys are up to the challenge.”

Colfax will have the home field advantage going for them, and they should be buzzing fresh off of a homecoming victory over Southeast Warren.

Quick strikes, gang tackling and intensity were just a few of the words Lietz used to describe his team’s 50-14 victory over Southeast Warren in the Colfax-Mingo homecoming game on Friday night, Sept. 6.

The Tigerhawks commanded the game from start to finish, jumping out to a 20-0 lead after one quarter of play.

They kicked off the second quarter with a goal line stand. On their first offensive play of the quarter, Blake Summy caught a bubble screen and ran 75 yards down the sideline to break the game wide open at 26-0.

“The guys are getting really comfortable with our offense,” Lietz said.

“When you have a group of guys like Blake (Summy), Juan (Gonzales), Jake (Lietz) and Sam (Smith) who want to work hard, it’s easy. They’re really beginning to run really good routes, and that makes it really easy on our offense.”

The Tigerhawks had a clear size advantage. Both in the number of their players and their height and weight, but Lietz was proud of his team for taking each game one week at a time and not overlooking their opponent.

“We started off a little shaky, but our offensive execution ended up sharpening quickly. Our overall intensity was very high, and when you face a smaller school we try to emphasize that you can’t overlook anybody,” he said.

“Our program is not in the position to overlook any team, at least not yet. Our guys went out there with a lot of intensity and pride.”

In the first half, the Tigerhawks had two goal line stands fueled by strong tackling. The Warhawks finally got on the board with 2:25 remaining in the first half.

“Our defense showed a lot of heart, and they executed their assignments very well,” he said. “They did a great job of gang tackling. It seemed like every play there was four or five guys around the football. I’m really proud of our defense.”

Following that touchdown by the Warhawks, the Tigerhawks took over in their own territory. Jared Myers flipped the ball to Jake Lietz, who weaved through defenders to the 22-yard line. Another short pass took the Tigerhawks down to the five-yard line, and Myers ran the ball up the middle for the touchdown. The extra point put the score at 35-6 heading into halftime.

The Tigerhawks pushed the ball across the goal line on their first possession of the second half, and from then on, the C-M subs got the opportunity to play.

Sophomore Gabe Simpson ran the ball in for the Tigerhawks’ final score of the game.

Myers threw for 298 yards and three touchdowns on 11-for-17 passing. He also led the team in rushing with 31 yards and two touchdowns on six carries.

Summy’s 99 yards receiving was tops among Tigerhawks players. Lietz had three catches for 89 yards and a touchdown. Gonzales caught one long 27-yard touchdown pass. Smith caught four balls for 66 yards. Tim Blood had two carries for 18 yards. Simpson had two carries for 15 yards and a touchdown.

Defensively, the Tigerhawks had three players with double-digit tackles. Lietz led the team with 21, including five for loss, that was followed by Smith with 13 and Nate Smith had 12. Alan Wheeler had eight tackles. Blood and Summy each had seven. Marcus Tomlonovic, Gonzales and Clayton Brown each had five. Sam Smith returned an interception 41 yards for a touchdown. Brown, Simpson, Summy and Chris Warner each had fumble recoveries