Ashby football: Underwood runs past Arrows in opener

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Chase Collins and the Underwood football team ran out to a 39-0 lead before Ashby could get on the board in the fourth quarter of a 39-14 loss for the Arrows in their home and season opener last Thursday.

“Our kids played tough tonight,” Ashby head coach Andy Campbell said. “We simply made too many special teams mistakes, which ultimately led to our demise. We will make our adjustments, learn from our successes and failures and move on as we prepare for Brandon-Evansville.”

Collins was all over the field for Underwood. He returned the opening kickoff almost 60 yards before punching it in for a touchdown from five yards out to give his team an early lead. AJ Montgomery added a score later in the half and Collins added his second of the night to make it 24-0 a little less than four minutes before halftime.

Collins wasn’t done. He added an 80-yard scamper for a touchdown for Underwood’s first score of the second half as the Rockets were well on their way to a season-opening win.

“[Underwood] coach [Chuck] Ross and his staff really do a wonderful job with their kids,” Campbell said. “They are a quality team in our section. We are thin in the depth column and had five or six kids really never come off the field. That’s a testament to their conditioning, toughness, leadership and willingness to do what it takes for our team.”

Ashby finally got on the board with two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Blake Ohren connected with Dylan Barry for a short touchdown pass with almost eight minutes left before Gage Olson added a score a few minutes later.

Ohren finished with 88 yards rushing and 168 yards passing. He connected on 22 of his 33 passes with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Zack Barry had four catches for 63 yards. Barry had six receptions for 36 yards and the touchdown and Olson caught five balls for 31 yards and a score.

The Arrows will try to bounce back from the loss when they welcome in Brandon-Evansville (0-1) on Friday for a 7 p.m. kickoff.

“We will build on what we do well and continue to tighten the screws moving forward,” Campbell said. “It’s one game, and we are still very much in control of accomplishing our team goals this season.”

Tags: ashby sports, sports, arrows, football