With the one game remaining in the regular season, Red Bud can clinch a spot in the state playoffs after a 34-20 win over Columbia Friday night.
“We weathered the storm,” said Red Bud coach Tyler Hubert. “We dug deep and got it done. This was a big win for us. Six wins gets you an automatic bid to the playoffs. We have five wins with a week to go. We have had a lot of good wins this season, but this was the biggest. It gets us closer to making the playoffs.”
The Musketeers began their first drive of the game from their own 29-yard line and grabbed the momentum from the start with a 69-yard, 11-play drive as the team converted on third down three times for the 7-0 lead.
Red Bud got the ball after just two offensive plays from Columbia as Jason Greer sacked the Eagles quarterback, forcing a fumble that was recovered by Brett Cleveland.
The Musketeers began their next drive from the Columbia five-yard line. But this time the Eagle defense would step up to the challenge and end the drive by sacking quarterback Alex Phegley on fourth down.
The Eagles couldn’t keep the momentum going, as the Red Bud defense forced them to punt after just three plays.
After Red Bud went three-and-out on its next series, Columbia found its offensive rhythm and threaten with some big plays.
The Eagles moved the ball 75-yards on just five plays to pick up a first-and-goal from the Red Bud five-yard line early in the second quarter.
On the next play, Columbia fumbled the ball, and Kevin Crafton recovered it for the Musketeers.
The game would remain 7-0 in favor of the Musketeers until late in the second quarter.
Red Bud increased its advantage to 13 points with a six-play 62-yard drive that was capped off by a three-yard touchdown run by Tyler Hubert. The drive was highlighted by a 30-yard pass completion from Phegley to Hubert that set up the scoring run.
The Eagles answered right back on their next drive. Reed Greatting brought in a 30-yard touchdown pass from Logan Santanello after a 73-yard  four-play drive. After the extra point kick was blocked, Red Bud led 13-6 with 1:24 left in the first half.
On the next play from scrimmage, Phegley broke out of a tackle in the backfield and scrambled to find Hubert deep behind the Columbia defense. Hubert made the catch and outran the Eagle defense for a 66-yard touchdown pass. Crafton kicked the PAT, and the Musketeers led 20-6 at the break.
Columbia came out in the second half with some urgency. On the first series of the second half, the Eagles put together a 50-yard four-play scoring drive that was capped off by a 35-yard touchdown run by Charles Farris. The score cut Red Bud’s lead to 20-13 with 10:15 left to play in the third quarter.
The Musketeers were in prime position to answer that score after a couple of big plays on their next drive.
Phegley started the series off with a 25-yard run and followed it up with a 30-yard pass to Crafton to get into Columbia territory.
A couple of four-yard runs by Crafton and a 10-yard run by Phegley gave the Musketeers a first-and-goal from the Columbia 10.
A crucial penalty and some stiff play by the Eagle defense won out as the Red Bud drive stalled in the red zone.
The Musketeers got the ball back three plays  later, when Phegley intercepted a pass thrown by Columbia’s Santanello.
Starting from the Columbia 18, it took Red Bud just two plays to find the end zone.
On second down, it looked like Phegley was going to go down for a sack, but once again, he broke out of  the tackle and found Hubert open in the corner of the end zone for a 16-yard touchdown pass. The kick failed, and with 3:09 left in the third, the Musketeers led 26-13.
The Columbia offense answered in a hurry. The Eagles scored just 58 seconds later to cap off a three-play 55-yard drive. Farris put the ball in the end zone with a 13-yard scoring run. Columbia added the PAT to cut the deficit to 26-20 with 2:11 left in the quarter.
After both teams were forced to punt on their next possession, Red Bud put the game away with a 57-yard touchdown run by Phegley. Hubert ran in the two-point conversion for the final score of 34-20.
“We had a few breakdowns in the game, but the team got better as the game went along,” said Lucht. “Columbia made some good adjustments, but we were able to get stops and make plays when we needed them.”
Phegley finished the game with 168 yards rushing on 20 carries while completing 7-of-14 passes for 159 yards and two touchdowns.
Columbia made a concerted effort to stop the running attack of Hubert, as the senior had just 36 yards on 14 attempts. However, Hubert caught two passes for 96 yards and finished the game with four total touchdowns.
On defense, Jason Greer was a beast for the Musketeers, finishing with a game-high 10 solo tackles to go along with three assists and a sack.
Red Bud will host Sparta (0-8) Friday night.