By Pat Dailey (For OzarkSportsZone.com)
LEBANON — While welcoming back running back Brayden Christian, Lebanon responded to the loss of another running back, Elisha Simmonds, by rushing for eight touchdowns in its 56-28 victory versus Ozark Friday.
Christian returned to the Yellowjackets after undergoing an appendectomy that sidelined him for three games. His comeback saw him rush for 123 yards and three touchdowns.
“I’m super grateful and excited to be back out here playing with my friends,” Christian said. “I was hoping for a good night. It was a lot of fun. I felt good.”
“Missing three games your senior year is tough,” said Lebanon coach Will Christian, who is also Brayden’s father. “But he was very blessed to have a lot of season left. I’m proud of him.”
Brayden never could have guessed a month ago he would have needed his appendix removed. Even the day before his surgery, he had no suspicion of the pain he would endure beginning the next morning.
“It really hit me in one day,” Christian said. “It came on one morning and by that night, I had surgery. I caught it pretty early, so the pain wasn’t too bad. But by the time I was getting ready for my surgery it was bad. It was shocking. I was ready to play Neosho that week and then boom, I was out for three (weeks).”
Christian helped Lebanon (3-3 overall and 1-1 in the COC East Division) rally from deficits of 14-0 and 28-14 against Ozark (2-4 and 1-1).
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
Lebanon was minus Simmonds, a budding sophomore star, for the first time, after he suffered a broken collarbone last week at Nixa. He led the Yellowjackets through five weeks with 351 yards rushing.
“Elisha is so good. But that’s our program, ‘Next man up,” Will Christian said. “The good news is he is a sophomore and we’ll have him back in the future.”
Elisha’s older brother, senior wide receiver Joe Simmonds, also helped make up for his loss by breaking loose for three touchdowns.
The Simmonds’ sister, Moriah Mitchell, serves as Ozark’s trainer.
“I was glad she was able to watch us because she’s usually with Ozark,” Joe Simmonds said. “But it’s a bummer Elisha’s out for the rest of the season.”
In the final minutes of the first half, Simmonds scored on fourth-and-goal from the four-yard line on a reverse to pull Lebanon with 28-21 at halftime.
“There was a lot of pressure,” Simmonds said. “I was glad we were able to punch it in.”
Simmonds followed up returning the opening kickoff of the second half 85 yards for a touchdown.
“I don’t think anybody touched me,” Simmonds said. “I was able to run it right up the gut. That got us hyped and turned the game around.”
“He’s an electric player,” Will Christian said. “His kickoff return got the ball rolling.”
Simmonds capped his night by intercepting a deflected pass and running 32 yards for another touchdown in the fourth quarter.
“I saw it coming and thought, ‘I’ve got to go get that, that’s my ball,’” Simmonds said. “It came right to my hands.”
This is Simmonds’ first season playing high school ball. Before this summer, he last strapped on shoulder pads when he was in junior high.
“The guys would tell stories about how much fun it was and I thought I was missing out. I’m so glad I’m back,” Simmonds said. “It’s so much fun and there’s a lot of brotherhood. I didn’t have much expectations. I’m just glad to contribute to the team.
CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO OF THE GAME
Ozark jumped on top 14-0 before Lebanon had its first offensive possession. The Tigers scored on a 52-yard touchdown run off a fake punt by Jett Easley and followed up recovering an on-side kick that set up a 35-yard Easley touchdown run.
“We got off to a great start,” coach Jeremy Cordell said. “We were clicking offensively and Jett had some awesome runs.”
Easley also had a 62-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. He finished with a career-high 235 yards rushing on 17 carries and had six catches for 44 yards.
But the Tigers were shut out in the second half while committing two turnovers.
“We’ve got to play consistently for four quarters,” Cordell said. “Credit to Lebanon, they played a nice second half.”
Most importantly, the Yellowjackets found a way to contain Easley.
“We made it simpler. We changed our alignment a bunch and our guys were in the right position,” said Brayden Christian, who doubles as a defensive back. “(Easley) is fast and a weapon. But when we get to our base stuff, we can contain people.”
Lebanon rushed for 237 yards and was not penalized on either side of the ball in the second half.
“We did a poor job lining up at times in the first half and Ozark took advantage of it,” Will Christian said. “In the second half, we tackled better and took advantage of some opportunities. I can’t say enough about our ‘O’ bringing it all night long.”
Lebanon 56, Ozark 28
Lebanon 7 14 7 28 – 56
Ozark 21 7 0 0 – 28
Scoring
O – Easley 52 run (Selsor kick)
O – Easley 35 run (Selsor kick)
L – Christian 7 run (Rhoades kick)
O – Easley 62 run (Selsor kick)
L – York 1 run (Rhoades kick)
O – Cordell 4 run (Selsor kick)
L – Simmonds 4 run (Rhoades kick)
L – Simmonds 85 kickoff return (Rhoades kick)
L – Christian 5 run (Rhoades kick)
L – Christian 1 run (Rhoades kick)
L – Hill 9 run (Rhoades kick)
L – Simmonds 32 interception return (Rhoades kick)
