A long touchdown pass brought the Collinsville Kahoks to within six points of Althoff with 1:44 remaining in the game Friday. Five plays later and the Crusaders had sealed a 34-14 victory.

Jordan Reichert lines up for a snap against Althoff / Photo by Roger Starkey

The opening half for both teams looked exactly like a season opening half. Each team threw an interception and lost a fumble. Collinsville was hit with seven penalties and Althoff six.

Althoff nearly took advantage of the Kahoks penalties on their first drive of the game when they knocked on the goal line but could not score. The drive started with the Kahoks jumping offside on the Crusaders first play of the year and again two plays later.

An Althoff holding call on the next play was followed three plays later by a Collinsville pass interference. The drive was on the verge of ending in a touchdown when the Crusaders made a mistake to trump all others on the drive. An Althoff receiver lost the ball as he was stretching toward the goal line. The ball rolled to the back of the end zone, where a Collinsville player pounced on it to end the threat.

The teams emerged from their locker rooms at halftime in a 0-0 tie. Collinsville was flagged with three offside penalties on the opening kick of the second half, before successfully starting the half to a big cheer from the Collinsville crowd.

The Crusaders finished the first drive of the second half more successfully than their first drive of the game. Quarterback Jordan Augustine capped the eight-play, 31-yard drive with a 4-yard keeper for a touchdown to give Althoff a 7-0 lead.

Collinsville wasted little time answering the score. Starting with the ball on its own 20, the Kahoks handed the ball to Jordan Miller on consecutive plays. The senior rushed for 12 yards before quarterback Jordan Reichert stuck the ball into Miller’s stomach, pulled it back after it almost seemed too late and sprinted to the right sideline, which he followed all the way to the end zone for a 68-yard touchdown.  The third quarter ended with the game tied 7-7.

The fourth quarter opened with the Crusaders completing a touchdown drive that began in the third. Keenan Young capped the drive with a seven-yard reception and a dogfight to get into the end zone and give Althoff and 14-7 lead.

After catching 70 passes in his sophomore campaign, Keenan Young did not have a catch at the end of three quarters of play Friday. Althoff Head Coach Ken Turner said getting his star receiver the ball was going to happen, but the team was focused on getting the running game moving.

“I felt like they were keying on him (Young) a little bit,” Turner said. “But obviously we’re going to get the ball to him eventually.”

Collinsville went three and out on the subsequent possession. After booming a couple of 40-yard plus punts Friday evening, Senior Eric Finch got off a 9-yard punt that put the Kahoks on their heels with Althoff taking over at the Kahoks 33-yeard-line.

Bryson Strong capped the next drive with a 1-yard, goal-line plunge. The point-after attempt failed. With 5:30 to play, Althoff appeared to have a commanding 20-7 lead.

Any hope Collinsville had seemed to be dashed when the Kahoks found themselves in a 4th and 19 at the Althoff 44 with less than two minutes remaining. However, Reichert’s  bomb to the goal line found Trevore Sanders, who created a little space for himself while the ball was in the air and caught it for a touchdown.  With 1:44 reaming, Collinsville trailed 20-14.

The next drive started with an unsuccessful onside kick and ended with a one play, 58-yard touchdown drive, courtesy of a run by Malik Easily, to give the Crusaders a 27-14 lead.

Easily slashed through the Collinsville defense Friday for 158 yards on 11 carries Friday.

Trailing 27-14 with less than 20 second remaining, Reichert threw a desperation pass that was picked off and taken to the house for a final score of 34-14.

Reichert, on the strength of his 68-yard scamper, led the Kahoks with 92 rushing yards on eight carries. Miller carried the ball nine times for 40 yards and Jamal Wellmaker carried six times for 24 yards.

Collinsville Head Coach John Blaylock praised his defense for playing well for three quarters, often on a short field. He was not as pleased with the team’s overall effort in the final quarter.

“We reverted back to some old habits in the fourth quarter, and that’s not tolerable,” Blaylock said. Collinsville had finished 1-8 the last two seasons.

Collinsville will attempt to get on the correct side of the scoreboard when they play at Triad at 7 p.m. Friday.