ROXANA — The Columbia Eagles edged the Roxana Shells 34-29 in a tightly contested high school football game Friday night in Roxana.
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Columbia took an early lead in the first quarter when quarterback Xavier Voegele connected with Jackson Lawal on a 16-yard touchdown pass with 4:19 remaining. The Eagles successfully converted a two-point try, putting them ahead 8-0.
Columbia Eagles at Roxana Shells Football
Roxana responded immediately as Mekhi Shorter sprinted 72 yards for a touchdown. After a successful extra point, the Shells closed the gap to 8-7.
In the second quarter, Roxana’s Mason Crump scored on a 10-yard run with 5:40 left, but the extra point was blocked, giving Roxana a 13-8 lead. Columbia answered at 2:37 with a 5-yard touchdown run by Jase Nelson, though the extra point attempt failed, leaving Columbia ahead 14-13.
Just before halftime, with nine seconds remaining, Voegele threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Brody Landgraf to extend Columbia’s lead to 21-13.
The third quarter saw Roxana tie the game at 21-21 with a 15-yard touchdown run. Columbia regained the lead on an 8-yard touchdown run by Keegan Thompson, making it 28-21.
Roxana quarterback Cohen Dugan then threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Aiden Stemm with 48 seconds left in the quarter. Roxana successfully completed a two-point conversion to take a 29-28 lead.
In the final quarter, Voegele connected again with Lawal on a 66-yard touchdown pass to reclaim the lead for Columbia, which they held to secure the 34-29 victory.
