Backfield duo lifts Legacy over Bonanza, 23-14

Keith Freeman, Special to the Home News

Saturday, Sept. 6, 2008 | midnight

Prince Oroke's 8-yard touchdown run in the third quarter Friday put Legacy ahead en route to a 23-14 victory over Bonanza.

Oroke, at 6-foot-2, 215 pounds, is the power half of the Longhorns' backfield duo while Deshae Edwards, at 5-foot-7, 155 pounds, accounts for the duo's speed. Edwards also ran 3 yards for a touchdown with two minutes, two seconds left in the fourth quarter, sealing the win for Legacy (2-0).

Oroke gained 130 of his 156 yards on 16 carries in the second half while Edwards had 89 of his 168 yards on 30 carries in the half.

"Those kids in the backfield did a good job of taking advantage of the counters and the misdirection (plays) that we were running," Legacy head coach Dave Snyder said. "We tried to get them (Bonanza) out of position.

"They got a taste of both speed and power," Edwards said.

"When you have both speed and power at the same time, they (opposing teams) don't know what to expect," Oroke added.

Edwards and Oroke came on strong in the second half after Bonanza (0-2) took a 14-10 lead during the first drive of the third quarter. Aaron Simon caught a 15-yard touchdown strike from Sterling Sprau and the Bengals were able to claim their second lead of the game. Antonio Beals highlighted the drive by gaining 57 of his 120 yards.

Beals also scored the Bengals' first touchdown, which resulted from a one-play drive. A 43-yard Beals touchdown run gave the Bengals a 7-3 lead with 11:50 left in the second quarter.

The Longhorns, however, owned a 10-7 halftime lead after Dontrell Hall caught a 26-yard touchdown pass from Zach Monticelli with 2:10 left in the second quarter. Legacy's first three points of the game came on Svein Rae's 27-yard field goal with 2:46 in the first. Rae's extra point following Edwards' fourth-quarter touchdown helped give the Longhorns a 23-14 advantage.

Legacy dominated Bonanza in the second half -- and it wasn't just because of the backfield duo.

"We made some adjustments up front and had eight to nine people in the box," Snyder said. "The kids did a good job of controlling the line of scrimmage. They took time off the clock and got into the end zone."

Edwards and Oroke also were grateful for their teammates' accomplishments.

"When they (the offensive line) got us holes open, we got through," Edwards said. "Even though we were down (14-10 in the third quarter) we knew that we couldn't put our heads down. We knew we had a lot of time to get things going."