Rampart coach Rob Royer gives the play call to quarterback Parker Humphrey during Saturday’s game against Coronado. (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
COLORADO SPRINGS — There wasn’t anything else that Clayton Hacker could do for his team Saturday night. Well, maybe he could’ve kicked the extra points.
But beyond that, he was the catalyst behind the Rampart Rams taking down Coronado 28-0 in their 2015 home opener at District 20 Stadium.
The Rams (2-0 overall) have yet to surrender a point this season.
“At any level,” Rams coach Rob Royer emphasized. “You go from Zero Week, to Week 1 and Week 2 and you just have to make sure the kids keep pushing it.”
Hacker, in particular, took those words to heart. He was on the receiving end of a 31-yard touchdown strike from quarterback Parker Humphrey. After the first quarter the Rams held a 7-0 lead, putting pressure on the Cougars’ (0-3) offense.
They tried to hit the Rams with a healthy dose of running back Marquis Arrington, who ran for 77 yards on the night. But the Rampart defense showed up early and was relentless all night. On the first play from scrimmage for Coronado, Toby Smith’s pass was picked off by Nate Zelasko cementing momentum early for the Rams.
“Turnovers and executing in general (would’ve helped us),” Cougars coach Robb Wetta said. “Defensively we played well enough to win this game, we just couldn’t get it done on the offensive side of the ball.”
Royer tried to throw as many weapons at Wetta’s defense as he possibly could. He provided a balanced running attack from Xiaver Bisho-Falu and Joseph Gums, Jr. The two backs combined for 110 yards on the ground and provided enough of an attack to give Humphrey some freedom through the air.
Humphrey completed 9 of 16 passes and threw for 125 yards and a touchdown. The Rams got their second touchdown on the night when they lined up Hacker in the wildcat and he took the direct snap for a three yard run into the end zone.
And his night was far from over.
The Rams defense continued to haunt Smith and the Coronado offense, but on a third quarter punt attempt, Hacker broke through the line and got his hands on the ball. He fell on top of the loose pigskin in the end zone to score his third touchdown of the night and give the Rams a 21-0 lead. It was also Hacker’s second blocked punt and touchdown recovery on the season.
“I think our team overall was putting me in good positions to make a play,” Hacker said. “On the blocked punt, (the Cougars) were confused because we were rushing both sides and the other side really set me up to make that play.”
Sam Schiller added a five-yard touchdown run in the final minutes of the game to bring the score to 28-0. But the night belonged to Hacker and Royer couldn’t have been happier for his senior. Hacker missed half of last season because of academic issues and in the offseason worked hard to make sure he was eligible and able to stay on the field.
“He put himself to be in a position where he gets to be here,” Royer said. “I’m super proud of that kid for what he’s done off the field.”
But it’s what he’s doing on the field that help Rampart continue their early season success. They return to the field Saturday night to face another District-11 opponent in the Palmer Terrors.