Football: Berkeley Drops Logan in NCS First Round

Berkeley 23, Logan 6

The Star:  Berkeley's Rudolpho James dominated the Colts with 206 yards on 20 carries and two touchdowns, including a back-breaking 77-yard scoring run in the third quarter to all but seal the win.

The Turning Point:  Trailing by just 10 points midway through the third quarter, Logan's Talat Aleem executed a perfect fake punt to give the Colts a first down at the Yellowjackets' 46 only to give back 15 yards on an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty by spiking the ball in celebration. The Colts were moved back to their own 39 and lost the ball on downs a few plays later.

The Quote: "We're not ready to quit here. We're trying to play until December," a Berkeley assistant coach talking to his team prior to kickoff.

What's next? Logan's season is over.

Bottom Line:  Logan is a very good football team, but the combination of playing an equally good Berkeley team and the fact that the Colts' offense never got into a groove until the final minutes of the game were too much to overcome on Saturday.

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At the end of Saturday night's North Coast Section playoff football game between Berkeley High and Logan, Colts head coach George Zuber could only wonder what might have been.

His young Logan team had virtually matched the visiting Yellowjackets in total yards (a 268-262 edge to Berkeley) and had managed to move the ball on the ground as planned.

But when time expired the only numbers that mattered were the ones on the scoreboard and they showed Berkeley's 23-6 victory that ended the season for the Colts (8-3).

"I feel like all through the game, we were inches away from breaking a big gain," Zuber said. "But for some reason our drives would just stall."

The Colts suffered key penalties, fumbled snaps, the occasional turnover and would fail a few times on fourth down conversion attempts, keeping Logan's offense from putting any points on the board until late in the final quarter,

Highlighting the Colts frustrations on the night, a rare fourth down conversion came on Talet Aleem's 10-yard run on a fake punt that would have given the Colts a first down in Berkeley's territory. But Aleem leaped up and spiked the ball in celebration, drawing an immediate flag and a penalty that moved the ball back to Logan's own 39-yard line.

The drive stalled out at the Yellowjackets' 28 on a failed fourth down attempt, preserving a 10-0 third quarter lead for Berkeley.

While the Colts struggled to get points on the board, Berkeley (8-3) finally got its offense in gear late in the second quarter. Rudolpho James carried the Yellowjackets to the end zone on a five-play, 58-yard drive aided by a Colts pass interference penalty. James accounted for the remaining 43 yards on five carries, capping the drive with a 15-yard run with 1:27 left in the first half to give the Yellowjackets a 7-0 lead.

After a field goal had extended the lead t 10-0 in the third quarter, James all but put the game away with a 77-yard spring through the Colts' defense for a 17-0 lead late in the third quarter. James finished the game with 206 yards on 20 carries.

Michael Ned rounded out the scoring for Berkeley with an 11–yard run in the fourth to give the Yellowjackets a 23-0 lead.

The Colts finally got on the board with 4:51 left in the game when Damond Beasley raced 72 yards for a score. After the two-point try failed, the Colts got the ball right back on an onside kick but an 11-play drive ended with a 41-yard field goal attempt that was well short with less than a minute left in the game. Beasley finished the game with 117 yards on 12 carries.

"It's a learning experience," Zuber said. "We'll sulk about this for six months or so then come back next year and try again."

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Berkeley 23, Logan 6

Berkeley  0 7 10 6 — 23

Logan  0 0 0 6 — 6

Scoring summary

1:27, 2nd: Rudolpho James 15 run (Samuel Boyden kick)

8:44, 3^rd: Boyden 28 FG

2:26, 3^rd: James 77 run (Boyden kick)

5:40, 4^th: Michael Ned 11 run (kick failed)

4:51, 4^th: Damond Beasley 72 run (run failed)

Individual Statistics

Rushing (car-yards): B – James 20-206, Ned 6-36, Keir Abrams 4-5; L – Beasley 12-117, Warren Long 15-47. Jeffrey Prothro 12-18, Talat Aleem 1-10, Tony Black 2-8, Ryan Bua 2-7.   

Passing (comp-att-yards-ints): B – Logan Murdock 2-11-21-1; L – Prothro 6-10-26-1, Bua 2-3-19-0.

Receiving (rec-yards): B – Jalen Rosales 1-12, Sir-Devonta Stewart 1-9; L – Jermaine Jones 3-19, Beasley 2-8, Quran Hodge 1-8, Long 1-6, Albert Bell 1-4.

Team offense (rush-pass-total)

Berkeley – 247-21-268

Logan – 217-45-262

Fumbles/lost: B – 1/1; R – 4/0.

Records: Berkeley 8-3, Logan 8-3.