Eufaula travels to Rehobeth on Friday night

Eufaula High tailback Maurice Crews has rushed for 840 yards in seven games.

By: Patrick Johnston | Eufaula Tribune
Published: October 13, 2011

Eufaula High features one of the top offenses in Class 5A football.

But what happened last Friday was gaudy even by Tiger standards. Eufaula set a Tiger Stadium scoring record in routing Carroll-Ozark 69-42.

The numbers were staggering – even for a team that ranks second in the state for scoring offense at 40.1 points per game.

» The Tigers finished with 499 yards of total offense – 186 through the air and 313 on the ground – even though they only ran 34 plays.

» Senior quarterback Ben Thomas completed 6-of-8 pass attempts for 186 yards and four touchdowns.

“Ben played his best game of the year,” EHS coach Dan Klages said. “His poise was the way we wanted it to be.”

» The Tigers averaged a first down and some change (12.0 yards) on each rushing attempt. Tailback Maurice Crews ran for 168 yards and three touchdowns on just 11 carries. Five other players (Thomas, Arenza Johnson, Jeremiah Forte, Xavier Woodson and Kyle Phillips) averaged at least eight yards per attempt.

» Eufaula scored touchdowns on all 10 offensive possessions, including seven first half touchdowns on just 13 plays.

“We executed real well on offense, and probably outmatched them a little bit,” Klages said.

The Tigers hope to build on that performance tonight (Friday) when they travel to Rehobeth for a Class 5A Region 2 game. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

Eufaula (6-1, 4-1), which is ranked ninth in this week’s Class 5A poll, will be heavily favored, even though Rehobeth (2-5, 1-4) has won two of its last three games.

Rehobeth has gained some momentum in recent weeks after defeating Cottonwood and Booker T. Washington in weeks five and six. Running back Drake Rogers (5-10, 161 lbs.), tight end/linebacker Nicolas Nelms (5-10, 169 lbs.), quarterback Jonathan Curran (6-1, 187 lbs.) running back/defensive back Corey Perkins (6-0, 160 lbs.) – all seniors – lead the Rebels. Junior lineman Joshua Thompson (6-3, 278 lbs.) anchors the trenches.

To read more of this story, check out the weekend edition of the Tribune, available Friday morning.