RC Gridders Fall Short In Defensive Slugfest
Staunton fended off the Rockbridge County High School football team to earn a hardfought 14-7 home victory in the Shenandoah District opener for both squads at Winston Wine Memorial Stadium on Friday.
Taiden Combs’ 74-yard touchdown pass to Luc Geffrard early in the fourth quarter proved to be the difference as the Storm (3-0) claimed the win in what was otherwise a defensive slugfest against the Wildcats (0-3).
Combs completed 10-of-17 passes for 166 yards, and Geffrard snagged four of those tosses for an even 100 yards. But RC bottled up Staunton’s running game, limiting the Storm to 94 yards on 33 attempts. Leon Woodard led the way with 11 carries for 35 yards and a touchdown.
Staunton was even more impressive on the stop side, yielding a paltry 56 yards of total offense and holding the Wildcats without a first down until the fourth quarter. Grayden Brown paced RC with 39 yards and a touchdown on seven attempts, all of which came in the second half.
Outside of a handful of long passing plays, the Wildcat defense was stout throughout the game. RC forced Staunton to go three-and-out on four occasions and also produced a pair of key fourth-down stops.
“We take a lot of pride in our defense,” RC head coach Zack Rhodenizer said. “It’s 3A football; we’ve got a lot of guys playing both ways… I can’t say enough about their effort and their heart.”
The Storm’s initial turnover on downs came on their first possession. After RC punted on its first series, Staunton drove down to the Wildcat 26-yard line. But senior lineman Caleb Robinson delivered a key tackle for loss on third-and-short, and an incompletion from Combs on fourth down ended the threat.
Following another short RC possession, the Storm used the passing game to open things up.
CLOSING IN FOR the tackle, Rockbridge County’s Carlos Yerba (76) and Aiden Meyers (4) set their sights on a Staunton ball carrier last Friday night in Staunton. The Wildcats opened Shenandoah District play with a 14-7 loss to the Storm. (Lucretia VanBrocklin photo)
WITH A LANE to the outside, Rockbridge County’s Marshall Earhart (1) finds some running room in the Shenandoah District football opener last Friday night at Staunton. The Wildcats dropped the defensive struggle to the Storm, 14-7. (Lucretia VanBrocklin photo)
Combs connected with Geffrard for 24 yards on one play and then threw a 28-yard strike to Zyleke Shepherd on the next to get Staunton into the red zone. Four snaps later, Woodard punched the ball in from six yards out, and Geffrard’s extra point made it 7-0 with 9:35 left in the second quarter.
The Wildcats struggled mightily to move the football across the first two quarters, entering halftime with minus-2 yards of total offense. But RC’s defense held firm down the stretch, and the teams entered the break separated by a single score.
The first six possessions of the second half – three for each team – featured a grand total of one first down. But early in the fourth quarter, Combs’ swing pass to Geffrard finally broke RC down. After scampering 74 yards up the left sideline, Geffrard added the point-after to make it 14-0 with 10:44 to play.
But the ’Cats had an answer, and they got a big boost from their special teams when Eli Sorrells returned the ensuing kickoff 51 yards to set RC up at the Staunton 40-yard line.
“We feel like we have some weapons back there. We’re just trying to find a way to break them loose,” Rhodenizer said of his return unit. “We felt like this week, that if we could get a block up front, we might be able to spring one.”
With Brown stepping in for starting quarterback Taylan Tyree – the freshman signal-caller had departed the game on the previous series due to injury – the Wildcats cashed in on the excellent field position. Brown delivered a key 18-yard scramble on third-and-11, and his 5-yard scoring run got RC on the board at the 6:23 mark of the period. Aiden Meyers’ extra point trimmed the margin down to 14-7.
“[Brown] came in, and I didn’t have to change anything about how I call the plays – just let him run with it,” Rhodenizer said of his backup quarterback, who also starts at one of the linebacker spots on defense. “We got a little traction, and we scored.”
The Wildcat defense then came up with another stop, including a key pass breakup from Ethan Farrish on thirdand- 17. But despite starting their next drive near midfield with 4:31 remaining, RC seemed to run out of steam, and a fourth-down stand from the Storm essentially iced the game.
As the Wildcats continue to build during Rhodenizer’s first year at the helm, they can certainly hang their hat on a fine defensive performance and a solid night on special teams. A little more consistency from the offense might just be enough to get RC across the finish line.
“As the kids learn a new system, we’re waiting for that muscle memory to kick in – and for us to quit thinking that fraction of a second … and just do,” Rhodenizer said. “We’ll keep on working on everything we’ve got to work on, but I do think we’re moving in the right direction.”
RC will return home to face Waynesboro on Friday, with kickoff set for 7 p.m.
RC 0 0 0 7 7
SHS 0 7 0 7 14
First Quarter No scoring
Second Quarter
SHS – Woodard 6 run (Geffrard kick) Third Quarter No scoring
Fourth Quarter
SHS – Geffrard 74 pass from Combs (Geffrard kick) RC – Brown 5 run (Meyers kick)
RC SHS First downs 2 10 Rushes-yards 28-54 33-94 Passing yards 2 166 Comp-Att-Int 1-6-0 10-17-0 Fumbles-lost 0-0 4-0 Penalties-yards 7-40 10-63
INDIVIDUALSTATISTICS RUSHING – RC, Brown 7-39, Kelly 7-16, Earhart 4-9, Sorrells 4-6, Meyers 1-2,Tyree 5-(-18). SHS,Woodard 11-35, Combs 10-33, Strother 6-22, Johnson 1-9, Sheffer 2-6, Geffrard 2-(-9), Team 1-(-2).
PASSING – RC, Brown 1-3-0 2,Tyree 0-3-0 0. SHS, Combs 10-170 166.
RECEIVING – RC, Meyers 1-2. SHS, Gefrard 4-100, Shepherd 2-57, Sheffer 2-7, Johnson 2-2.
