STORY BY TIM SCHNETTLER
NAVASOTA — The wins just keep on coming for the Navasota Rattlers and they keep coming in a big way.
Friday night it was the Houston Furr Brahmans who fell victim to the high-powerd, high-scoring Rattler offense, as top-ranked Navasota rolled to a 85-0 victory at Rattler Stadium, clinching a playoff berth in the process.
“I thought our kids came out and with great energy and played well,” Rattler head coach Lee Fedora said. “It means a lot [clinching a playoff berth], we take a lot of pride in that.”
The Rattlers built a 58-point cushion in the first half, taking advantage of four Furr turnovers, all of which were turned into touchdowns. The Rattlers also got a safety in the first half when a snap went over the head of the Furr punter and out of the back of the end zone.
The Rattlers’ first-half dominance included a 315 to 19 advantage in total yards as Navasota passed for 236 and rushed for another 79. On the night, the Rattlers finished with 489 total yards (253 passing, 236 rushing), while holding Furr to 86 total yards.
Quarterback Shelton Eppler continued his stellar season, completing 18-of-24 for 249 yards and five touchdowns, giving him 35 touchdown passes on the season. Eppler also added a 1-yard touchdown run.
Tailback Derrion Randle found the end zone three times on the night, twice on rushes (6 and 19 yards) and once on a pass reception that covered 31 yards. He finished his night with nine rushes for 98 yards.
The Rattler receiving duo of Jerbrell Lipscomb and Tren’Davion Dickson finished with a combined three touchdown receptions, Lipscomb with two and Dickson with one. Lipscomb led the receivers with four receptions for 113 yards.
The Rattler defense finished the night with four interceptions and a fumble recovery as it dominated from start to finish. Davon Jernigan had two of the interceptions, while Dickson and Dominique Mallard each had one.
“I am very proud of them,” Fedora said of his defense. “To get that many turnovers you have to say what a great game by our defense.”
NAVASOTA 85, HOUSTON FURR 0
FURR NAVASOTA
First Downs 2 17
Rushes/Yards 26/4 25/236
Passing Yards 82 253
Total Yards 86 489
PC-PA-PI 4-14-4 19-25-1
Punts/Avg 4/38.3 0/0
Fumbles/Lost 1/1 0/0
Penalties/Yards 7/45 3/25
FURR 0 0 0 0 — 0
NAVASOTA 30 28 13 14 — 85
1st Q
N — Derrion Randle 6 run (Michel Martinez kick) 4 plays 41 yards (10:50)
N — Safety (7:56)
N — Tren’Davion Dickson 51 KOR (Martinez kick) (7:49)
N — Randle 31 pass from Shelton Eppler (Martinez kick) 4 plays 55 yards (4:44)
N — Randle 19 run (Martinez kick) 3 plays 29 yards (2:14)
2nd Q
N — Jerbrell Lipscomb 45 pass from Eppler (Martinez kick) 1 play 45 yards (11:53)
N — Eppler 1 run (Martinez kick) 10 plays 76 yards (6:17)
N — Dickson 14 pass from Eppler (Martinez kick) 1 play 14 yards (6:01)
N — Ro’Davion Brown 5 pass from Eppler (Martinez kick) 7 plays 39 yards (:04)
3rd Q
N — Martinez 24 FG (5 plays 15 yards) (8:57)
N — Martinez 37 FG (4 plays 0 yards) (5:41)
N — Lipscomb 48 pass from Eppler (Martinez kick) 2 plays 53 yards (:48)
4th Q
N — Davon Jernigan 6 run (Martinez kick) 4 plays 48 yards (8:49)
N — Jarvis Norman 71 run (Martinez kick) 3 plays 83 yards (4:20)
Top passers: N: Eppler 19-25-253 5 TDs, 1 INT
Top receivers: N: Lipscomb 4-113 2 TDs; Dickson 4-52 1 TD
Top rushers: N — Randle 9-98 2 TDs