QUICK WORK: Rider blasts Burges for bi-district playoff win

Collectively, Rider had one job Friday.

Eliminate El Paso Burges from the playoffs and advance to the next round.

The Raiders set a new standard for efficiency in executing that responsibility, scoring four touchdowns during their first seven plays from scrimmage on the way to a 57-6 dismantling of Burges in a Class 5A Division II bi-district matchup at Memorial Stadium.

The Mustangs finished the season 2-9, while Rider advances to play either Lake Dallas or Arlington Heights in the area round at 7 p.m. next Friday in Mineral Wells.

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“We really handled our business,” Rider coach Marc Bindel said. “It was really clean, too. There weren’t a lot of penalties, at least not with the starters, and it was good to get these other guys in who have been running scout teams all year long.”

Rider’s starters exited the game after Kenji Johnson punished a Burges defender with a stiff arm and kept his balance down the sideline during a 72-yard TD run, giving Rider a 50-0 advantage at the 9:44 mark of the second quarter.

Johnson had three carries but turned them into 150 yards and two TDs. His first score came on the Raiders’ second play from scrimmage when he raced 69 yards untouched to the end zone.

Burges quickly went three-and-out, and Rider was back in the end zone two plays later on a 23-yard pass from Joe Castles to Kohen Maroney. Maroney took a pitch from Castles and threw for the two-point conversion to Hunter Talley for a 15-0 lead with 8:59 remaining in the first quarter.

From there, it was soak, rinse and repeat.

Burges went three-and-out, and Rider again scored two plays later, this time on a 12-yard run by Elijah Jackson.

Another three-and-out by Burges resulted in a blocked punt by Rider’s Cayse Jung, who recovered the loose ball on the Mustangs’ 6-yard line. Castles found Carson Ayres for a TD pass on the next play, giving Rider a 29-0 advantage and its fourth touchdown on the offense’s seventh play from scrimmage at the 5:58 mark of the first quarter.

And if the offensive efficiency wasn’t enough, Jackson picked off a screen pass from his defensive end position and walked it into the end zone for a 12-yard touchdown and a 36-0 lead with 4:36 remaining in the first.

Burges didn’t get on the scoreboard until after Rider was already ahead 50-0, finding the end zone on an 8-yard pass from Alex Rios to Adrian Gomez. Even then, the Mustangs’ extra-point attempt was blocked.

And while the start of the postseason didn’t offer much of a test for the Raiders, Bindel says his team is prepared for much tougher challenges in the near future.

“We don’t have to wait very long to find a challenge,” Bindel said. “We are going to have a tough game next week no matter who we play. I think we’ll be ready for it. We have a good team. There’s a reason these guys can make some of this look so easy, and it’s because we have really good players.”

RIDER 57, EL PASO BURGES 6

Burges 0 6 0 0 -6

Rider 36 21 0 0 -57

FIRST QUARTER

R – Kenji Johnson 69 run (Johnson kick), 11:17

R – Kohen Maroney 23 pass from Joe Castles (Maroney kick), 8:59

R – Elijah Jackson 12 run (Johnson kick), 7:56

R – Carson Ayres 6 pass from Castles (Johnson kick), 5:58

R – Jackson 12 interception return (Johnson kick), 4:36

SECOND QUARTER

R – Drew Haston 16 pass from Castles (Johnson kick), 11:12

R – Johnson 72 run (Johnson kick), 9:44

B – Adrian Gomez 8 pass from Alex Rios (kick blocked), 7:23

R – Jaiden Wetzel 2 run (Maroney kick), 3:54

TEAM STATS

First downs: (B) 8; (Ri) 17

Rushing: (B) 23-35; (Ri) 30-358

Passing; (B) 9-15-2—119; (Ri) 9-13-0—142

Punts: (B) 5-17.2; (Ri) 0-0

Fumbles: (B) 0-0; (Ri) 0-0

Penalties: (B) 2-15; (Ri) 2-30

INDIVIDUAL STATS

RUSHING: (B) Kayleb Hanna 20-46, Alex Rios 3-(-11); (Ri) Kenji Johnson 3-150, Kevin Riddle 9-91, Jaiden Wetzel 7-49, Braelon Carey 8-30, Elijah Jackson 2-20, Malachi Sanders 1-11, Tyrone Morgan 1-7.

PASSING: (B) Rios 9-15-2—119; (Ri) Joe Castles 7-8-0—117, Steven Marrs 1-3-0—25, Caleb McClane 0-2-0—0.

RECEIVING: (B) Devin Mata 2-58, Brooklyn Myers 1-33, Hannah 2-14, Adrian Gomez 1-8, Jayden Bowser 3-6; (Ri) Kohen Maroney 3-41, Morgan 1-42, Romen Peel 1-25, Drew Haston 1-16, Jackson 1-12, Carson Ayres 1-6.

RECORDS: Burges 2-9; Rider 9-2.

This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: El Paso Burges at Rider Raiders 2023 high school football final score