by The Bay Rockets imposed their will on the ground all night as they defeated the Fairview Warriors 34-7. The Rockets were without their starting running back Brendan Spellman tonight as he was out with an injury. Spellman was injured in the victory last week over Elyria Catholic. The Bay running backs held their own tonight and stepped up. The Rockets rushed for 277 yards in their win over the Warriors. Rocco Ereditario led the way with 21 carries for 195 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Early in the game, it looked like Fairview came ready for battle. On the opening drive, Brandon Clark picked off a pass from Michael Farrell to give Fairview their first possession. Just a few plays later, Pat Canfield took an end-around 45 yards for a Fairview touchdown. After that, Rocco Ereditario and the run game took over for Bay. On a drive that started from their own 30 yard line, Ereditario carried the ball 8 times for 80 yards and a score. A 10-yard holding penalty pushed back the Rockets late in the drive. From there on out, it was all Bay.
The Bay defense started to really kick into gear in the 2nd quarter. They forced a turnover on downs early in the quarter to give back possession to the Rockets. Just two plays later, Ereditario would find the endzone on a 9-yard touchdown run for his second score of the half. On the next Fairview drive, Billy Willmitch intercepted a pass from Fairview quarterback Burke Lowry. This set up Bay with great field position. It would also set up Rocco Ereditario for his third touchdown of the first half! He punched it in from 10-yards out to extend the lead for Bay to 21-7 following the extra point. The passing game got involved late in the half when Michael Farrell hooked up with Jaxon Dunn on a 13-yard touchdown. Heading into the break the Rockets held a commanding 27-7 lead.
The 3rd quarter was a defensive battle as there were no points put on the board for either team. A bright spot for the Fairview Warriors tonight was their pass defense. With just over 4 minutes to play in the 3rd, Sal Rizzo picked off a pass from Michael Farrell with Bay threatening to score. Other than their first drive of the game, Fairview could not get much to click on the offensive side of the ball. The Rockets’ defense picked up seven sacks on the night resulting in a total of 73 yards lost.
The 4th quarter featured mostly backups for both teams. The Warriors and Rockets both had guys showing their talents late in the game and making the most of their opportunities. For the Rockets, Evan Taulbee came in and made an impact on the ground game. He scored on a 17-yard touchdown run that would be the final score of the game. In the final quarter he racked up 56 yards on 4 carries and a touchdown. For the Warriors, LaMarcus Clark made big plays late in the game. He picked up 5 carries for 59 yards to go along with a reception for 8 yards. In the end, the Rockets came out on top with a dominant 34-7 victory. Next week the Rockets (6-1) will travel to Westlake to take on the Demons (5-2) in a tough Great Lake Conference matchup.
Players of the Game
Bay RB Rocco Ereditario: 21 carries, 195 yards, and 3 touchdowns
Fairview WR Nolan Reis: 6 receptions for 116 yards
