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Breck capitalizes on big first half to defeat Columbia Heights

By Dominic Davis, SportsEngine, 09/01/17, 9:00AM CDT

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Quarterback David Roddy threw three touchdown passes to lead the Mustangs.



Breck running back Elijah Zackery advances the ball into Columbia Heights territory. Zackery scored one of the six Breck touchdowns. Photo by Kelly McGinley, SportsEngine

Down by seven points early, Breck (1-0) took control of the game and went on to beat Columbia Heights (0-1) 37-19 away from home on Friday.

Late in the first quarter, the Mustangs’ offense started to click. Breck quarterback David Roddy put on an impressive display, leading his team to victory in the first game of the season.

Roddy is a special player. He is a two-sport athlete who also plays basketball. His size and athletic ability give him a big advantage in both sports.

Breck head coach Jon Martin said he has never had a player like him before. Roddy scored three passing touchdowns. He threw for 266 yards.

“I haven’t coached a player who has his combination of skills,” Martin said. “Size, speed, athleticism, arm. I’ve had kids that had all those different parts. David is like a mashup of all of them.”

Roddy knows the game of football well. He credits basketball for some of what he can do on the football field. The forward averaged 18 points per game last season

“Reacting,” Roddy said. “Reacting to linemen coming up to me trying to sack me. Just trying to get out the way. Overall just being an athlete. Football helps basketball. Basketball helps football.”

The junior said working for both sports at the same time is difficult. It seems his hard work pays off.

Opposing defenses are forced to figure out how to stop him.

“We tried mixing up the coverages and mixing up some pressures,” Columbia Heights head coach Matt Townsend said. “Bottom line is we just didn’t get him down. We had him in position to get him down and he made plays.”

The offense for Breck was efficient in key moments. Breck went on a 24-0 run after conceding the opening touchdown in the first quarter. The Mustangs quarterback made the right reads to make plays. Martin said when he does make the right reads, they can have success.

Martin said that there is much more to Roddy than his athletic ability. The other things he does for the team count just as much.

“He’s a great leader, he’s a great kid, he’s very humble, and the kids want to follow him,” Martin said. “Not only is he our best athlete, but he’s one of the hardest workers on the team. He just does all the little things right that leaders do.”

Breck’s quarterback plans to continue to lead his team as far as they can go, but mostly he’s trying to have a good time while playing.

“Win as many games as we can and have the most fun as we can. I just want to play for the seniors because I know this is their last chance.”

Breck made plays defensively as well that kept the Hylanders from coming back. Stopping the run game was a priority because Columbia Heights running back Antonio Triplett Jr. is a huge threat.

He rushed for 1438 yards last season.

“We made a few tweaks in our fronts defensively,” Martin said. “It comes down to the kids executing. They kind of dug deep and just basically dug their heels in and decided to play some football.”

First Report

Breck had a big scoring second quarter in its 37-19 victory against Columbia Heights on Friday.

The Hylanders cut the Mustangs’ lead when Antonio Triplett Jr. ran in for a touchdown in the third quarter. The score made it 24-13 in favor of Breck. The offense looked like they were going to add another score before the fourth quarter, but couldn’t convert.

Breck made them pay for not taking the chance to cut the lead. The Mustangs’ Elijah Zackery ran in for the score in the fourth quarter, giving Breck a 30-13 lead.

The Hylanders never stopped fighting. They scored again to cut the lead to 11, however, Breck scored in the last couple of minutes to put the game out of reach

Breck’s David Roddy had a rough first drive of the game, missing his first few passes. He quickly turned things around for his team by bringing the Hylanders’ lead to just one by the end of the first quarter.

The Mustangs took over in the second. Breck scored 18 points unanswered points. Efficient offense and key defensive plays were key in the huge run for the away side.

In the third quarter, Hylanders’ Amir Davis intercepted a pass to give Columbia Heights the ball at its own 6-yard line.

Columbia Heights covered the Breck receivers better in the third quarter. They didn’t allow them the enough space to hang on to the ball.

Photo Gallery


Breck quarterback David Roddy had a rough start to the game against Columbia Heights but Roddy pulled it together with three touchdown passes to lead the Mustangs to a 37-19 victory. Photo by Kelly McGinley, SportsEngine

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Columbia Heights' Antonio Triplett Jr. advances downfield. Triplett Jr. put the first points on the board for the Hylanders. Photo by Kelly McGinley, SportsEngine

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