Archie continues winning streak over rival Bobcats

By Jimmy Gillispie

DREXEL — For the seventh-straight time, Archie dominated its Cass County rival, located just 14 miles to the west.

Archie has owned the rivalry since Drexel won the 8-man state championship in 2021. The Whirlwinds have won the past seven matchups, with no game closer than 25 points.

Since that Drexel state title, Archie has won two championships of its own and advanced to the 8-man state semifinals last year. Although much of the talent from those squads has graduated, Archie continues to keep the rivalry one-sided.

It stayed that way Friday night in Drexel. The Whirlwinds cruised to a 60-6 victory, in large part to controlling the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.

“Our offensive line and defensive line controlled the game,” Archie coach Drew Smith said. “They did a good job of controlling the line of scrimmage. My quarterback Josh Lough did a good job of making his reads and ran the ball well. Our defense was also stout up front and stopped (Drexel) from being able to run the ball, which is what they want to hang their hat on.”

Smith said the Bobcats were similar in scheme to Lockwood, which hand Archie its worst loss in more than three years earlier this year, so he knew his team had to be tough in the trenches.

“I know they aren’t the same team as Lockwood, but they want to run the same style as Lockwood, and they want to be physical up front and control the line of scrimmage,” Smith said. “ From a schematic standpoint, they are very similar, but personal wise not so much.”

Smith said his team started a bit slow Friday night. However, once its offense found the end zone, it rolled over the Bobcats.

Rylan Reynolds caught a pair of touchdowns passes in the first half, helping his team to victory. 

“We had a rough go of it in the first quarter,” Smith said. “We had some blocking blunders which led to some loss of yards to go along with some untimely penalties, but we were able to overcome those with some big plays. Then we figured some things out and never looked back.”

This week, Archie (3-1) will be back on the road, playing at Bishop LeBlond at 7 p.m. Friday.

“They have a good quarterback and they can sling the rock,” Smith said. “They have good wide receivers. They are big up front. It will be a good challenge for us.”