The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Columbia dispatches Wellington in Week 4
Lucas McKee (pictured) and Joe Governale key a big night on the ground for Columbia in a victory over Wellington. Michael Fitzpatrick was on the scene and has a recap of the gridiron action.
The Columbia Raiders used a homecoming contest with Wellington to put all of their offensive weapons on display.
The Raiders got a big night from senior running back Joe Governale, a stunningly accurate effort from quarterback Andrew Champagne and some big plays by receiver/defensive back Owen Menge as Columbia romped over Wellington, 30-12, in a Lorain County Conference contest.
Governale, who was named Columbia’s homecoming king prior to the game, rushed for 113 yards and two touchdowns to set the tone for the offense.
He scored on runs of 18 and 4 yards in the first quarter as Raiders jumped to a 14-0 lead and never looked back.
Champagne completed all five of his passes for 106 yards. He connected with Menge on a beautiful 26yard TD pass in the corner of end zone with less than a minute left in the first half to increase the Raiders lead to 22-0. Menge, who was all over the field, set up the score with an interception. The two hooked up a
41-yard TD pass in the second half that put the Raiders up, 30-0.
On the first score, Menge said Champagne just told him to get open in the corner of the end zone.
“He put the ball on me,” Menge said. “That’s the best ball I’ve seen him throw.”
Columbia coach Jason Ward has an embarrassment of riches at his disposal on offense.
Champagne started at quarterback, but the Raiders also rotated in Carter Kalamasz, who has also started this year.
And when Governale wasn’t running the ball, senior Lucas McKee was able to rush for 49 yards on 11 carries. McKee was the team’s starting center until being moved to running back for the game against Oberlin.
“Tough team to prepare for,” Wellington coach Ron Howells said of Columbia “Great coaching staff, great football team. They do everything and they do it well. They spread it out and throw it, they run it, they’ve got two quarterbacks, two running backs, just a great program.”
Ward loves the idea of having the two-headed monster at running back.
“It’s going to be fun but challenging to split carries with those guys, keep them fresh and let them compete with each other,” said Ward.
Despite being down 30, Wellington didn’t roll over. Quarterback Jayden Skinner marched his team on two late touchdown drives to make the final score respectable. He connected with Caleb Teague on an 18-yard scoring pass to get the Dukes on the board and found Ty Moore for a 5-yard score in the game’s final seconds.
Skinner was under pressure all night long, but still managed to run for 50 yards on eight carries.
“Before the half he had a turnover that cost us, but again, he made plays and he stayed in the game and stayed consistent so I’m proud of him,” Howells said of Skinner.
In spite of seeing his team get physically manhandled at times during the loss Howells said he was still happy to just be able to play football with all that’s going on in the world.
“To be able to play under these great lights on a Friday night, we’ve got to be proud,” said Howells.