BY DANIEL SCHMIDT
THE OBSERVER
LOACHAPOKA — The week before, No. 6 Loachapoka High School made a statement with a 49-0 drubbing over Georgiana High School on the road.
Six days later, the Indians did it again. Lareaco Echols ran for 155 yards and five touchdowns on 13 carries before halftime as Loachapoka (5-1, 2-1) rolled past Woodland High School 49-7 (3-4, 2-2) at Jones-Tate Stadium on Oct. 1.
The Indians built a 42-7 halftime lead and scored on its opening drive of the third quarter to force a running clock the rest of the way.
The win was the Indians’ third in a row and their fifth by double digits this season, positioning them for a strong finish in Class 1A Region 6 play.
Echols finished with 184 yards and five TDs on 16 carries, while Lipscomb added 84 yards and a TD on seven carries. Cruz Hall completed 5 of 10 passes for 74 yards and a TD, with Harvey hauling in four catches for 67 yards and the score.
Ryquan Butler was again a force for the Indians, finishing with 15 total tackles, three tackles for loss, an interception and a forced fumble. Jai’Kell Cooks also harassed the Bobcats with six total tackles and two tackles for loss.
Loachapoka head coach Branden Hall said his team got off to a fast start on both sides of the ball and cleaned up some of the penalty issues that had hurt them in recent weeks, though he said there’s still work to do.
He also praised Echols for what he brings to the team.
“He runs hard, cuts well and plays with passion,” Brandon Hall said. “He’s a great player [and has a] great attitude.”
Woodland won the toss and elected to receive, but Loachapoka’s defense forced a three-and-out to open the game. The Indians answered with a nine-play drive, all on the ground, and Echols capped it with a 1-yard TD run. Axel Gutierrez added the extra point, the first of his seven on the night, to make it 7-0 with 6:38 left in the first quarter.
After another Woodland punt, Echols broke off a 46-yard run and finished the drive himself from 6 yards out for a 14-0 lead with 1:20 left in the opening quarter.
Woodland muffed a punt early in the second quarter, and Qua’shaun Satterwhite recovered for Loachapoka. The Indians needed two plays to cash in, with Hayden Lipscomb running 22 yards for a TD that put Loachapoka up 21-0 with 8:14 left in the half.
The Bobcats got their only points after a botched speed option. Lipscomb was swallowed up by a swarm of Woodland defenders and tried a last-second pitch to Echols to avoid a loss, but Asher Williams snagged the loose ball near the Bobcats’ 23 yard line and raced 39 yards before Echols chased him down to save a TD.
Nathaniel Herren then threw a 21-yard TD pass to Brayden Johnson, cutting the deficit to 21-7 with 4:29 left in the second quarter.
Loachapoka responded quickly. Woodland was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct on its TD, and the Indians chose to have the penalty enforced on the ensuing kickoff. Derrion Calloway took advantage, returning the kick 25 yards straight through the heart of the Bobcats’ coverage unit to the Woodland 28. Echols covered the remaining 28 yards in two plays, scoring on a 3-yard run with 3:38 to go before halftime.
Woodland tried an extremely ill-advised lateral on the ensuing kickoff, and Jaden Manson plucked it out of the air for Loachapoka. Three plays later, Echols scored from 20 yards out for his fourth TD, making it 35-7 with 2:32 left in the half. He added a fifth on a 21-yard blast up the middle with 18 seconds left before halftime.
Woodland fumbled the ensuing kickoff around its own 20, and Calloway recovered for Loachapoka, but the Indians couldn’t capitalize before the break and took a 42-7 lead into the locker room.
Loachapoka opened the second half with a four-play scoring drive, capped by Cruz Hall’s 34-yard TD pass to Jaiden Harvey with 8:30 left in the third quarter.
Ryquan Butler then capped the game off with an interception in the Indians’ end zone with 1:39 left to play, maintaining the 42-point lead.
Branden Hall credited the offensive line for opening the holes Echols ran through. Kameron White, T.K. Brown, Moses Weaver, Emmanuel Baker and Ryquail Butler have played together up front, with White, an all-state selection candidate, anchoring the left side.
“Those five guys have been playing together, practicing together and working together, and they’ve come a long way,” Branden Hall said.
Ryquan Butler said the Indians have moved past their lone loss of the season, a 22-10 defeat at No. 3 Winterboro High School on Sept. 4.
“We know that loss was a fluke,” Ryquan Butler said. “We know that we didn’t have a healthy team, and we know that it was just God telling us we didn’t prepare that week well enough.”
Ryquan Butler said Loachapoka has embraced being a player-led team, with leadership spread throughout the roster rather than concentrated in a few players or position groups.
“For a team like this, there’s no limit,” he said. “I feel like these guys want to come in and get better every day. Even though we have days where everybody’s mindset might not be right that certain day, I know they’re intentionally trying to come in and get better.”
Branden Hall agreed that the Indians’ ceiling is high, but added the focus remains on the day-to-day work.
“The great ones don’t do anything extraordinary. They just perfect the ordinary,” Branden Hall said. “So we’re just trying to perfect the small things and details one step at a time.”
Loachapoka travels to Sylacauga to face Region 6 foe Fayetteville High School (2-4, 2-1) at FarmLinks Field on Friday, Oct. 9, at 7 p.m. The Wolves are coming off a 60-0 road loss to Winterboro on Oct. 2.
