Falling behind early, the Rockbridge County High School football team suffered a 42-7 loss in its homecoming game against Shenandoah District rival Wilson Memorial on Friday night at Prasnicki-Ross Field at Veterans Stadium in Lexington.
The Wildcats fell to 0-7 overall and 0-5 in the district, dropping their 17th consecutive game, dating back to the beginning of last season.
The Green Hornets (3-3 overall, 2-2 district) built up a 20-0 lead in the first quarter, scoring on a 9-yard touchdown run by Clinton Coffey and a 1-yard TD run by Ainsley McAllister before Caleb Gundry snared an interception and ran the ball back 30 yards for another score. WM added two more TDs in the second quarter on passes of 39 yards and 35 yards from Logan Podgorski to Nolan Deaver, to go up 35-0 at halftime.
For the game, the Hornets completed all five of their pass attempts for 85 yards, with Podgorski throwing the two to Deaver for 74 yards and backup quarterback Cole Kindig throwing three short passes for 11 yards. RC sophomore quarterback Taylan Tyree was held to 19 yards in the air, completing 5-of-9 passes with one interception.
During the halftime ceremony, Brenden Staley, a senior wide receiver and defensive back, was named the Wildcats’ homecoming king, and senior cheerleading Maria Calomeris was crowned as queen.
WM’s lone TD of the second half came on a 25-yard fumble recovery by Deaver, following a hit by teammate Carson Cash to knock the ball loose, less than two minutes into the third quarter. WM placekicker Maddox Woods made four of his five extra-point attempts, with RC’s Carson Fridley blocking one in the first quarter and Podgorski making a two-point conversion run at the end of the first half.
In the fourth quarter, Tyree repeatedly handed off the ball to sophomore running back Jhordane Campbell, who got the ball deep into WM territory, with the help of strong blocking from RC’s offensive lineman. The Wildcats avoided the shutout when Campbell ran for a 9-yard TD with 2:57 left in the game, and Trey Rhamey converted the extrapoint kick.
Campbell led all players with 86 rushing yards on 21 carries. Giving credit to his offensive lineman, Campbell said, “My specialty is to pass the line of scrimmage, and I can’t do what I do without my line getting me past it.”
The RC defense did a good job of containing the Hornets for much of the second half, when WM was playing with mostly reserves. Among the Wildcats making tackles were Harvey Presnell, Ethan Armstrong, Marquise Beverley, Marquis Corbin, Culton Reilley, Shayde Tomlin and Asher Wells.
RC head coach Zack Rhodenizer said the Wildcats put forth a great effort on defense in the second half, “but at the end of the day, you’ve got to battle in the trenches, especially in the Shenandoah because they run the ball so much. That’s weight room and growth and age. That’s what we look forward to as our team continues to grow.”
Proud of his team for showing improvement in the second half, both offensively and defensively, Rhodenizer said, “We made a couple of adjustments at the half and moved a couple guys.
“They’re a good football team,” said Rhodenizer of the Hornets. “They have a lot of experience up front. Our guys are young, and they’re playing their hearts out. We’ve got no complaints about effort, but are learning how to play poised. You’ve got to learn how to compete before you learn how to win.”
WM 20 15 7 0 42
RC 0 0 0 7 7 First Quarter WM – C. Coffey 9 run (Woods kick) WM – McAllister 1 run (kick blocked) WM – Gundry 30 interception return (Woods kick) Second Quarter WM – Deaver 39 pass from Podgorski (Woods kick) WM – Deaver 35 pass from Podgorski (Podgorski run) Third Quarter WM – Deaver 25 fumble recovery (Woods kick) Fourth Quarter RC – Campbell 9 run (Rhamey kick) WM RC
First downs 8 9 Rushes-yards 27-173 33-110 Passing yards 85 19 Comp-Att-Int 5-5-0 5-9-1 Fumbles-lost 0-0 2-1 Penalties-yards 8-65 7-65
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING – WM, Sisk 9-73, McAllister 8-57, C. Coffey 4-33, Podgorski 3-11, Kindig 1-5, Van Devander 2-(-6). RC, Campbell 21-86, Fridley 5-24, Presnell 1-2, Tyree 6-(-2).
PASSING – WM, Pordgorski 2-2-0 74, Kindig 3-3-0 11. RC, Tyree 5-9-1 19.
RECEIVING – WM, Deaver 2-74, C. Coffey 1-7,Aguirre 1-4, Cupchak 1-0. RC, Fridley 3-19, Presnell 2-0.
ABOVE, RC junior defensive back Carson Fridley blocks an extra-point kick attempt by WM’s Maddox Woods while teammate Harvey Presnell runs beside Fridley. AT LEFT, During the halftime ceremony, RC senior Brenden Staley kisses his girlfriend, senior cheerleader Maria Calomeris, after the two were crowned as the Wildcats’ homecoming king and queen. (Stephanie Mikels Blevins photos)
WILDCAT SOPHOMORE quarterback Taylan Tyree runs with the ball while junior offensive lineman Bryce Taylor (78) follows him. (Stephanie Mikels Blevins photo)
