by The 2-1 Bay Rockets traveled to Parma to take on the 1-2 Normandy Invaders and came home with their 3rd straight victory. Bay was dominant on both sides of the ball in this one. They commanded the game with the run game and were outstanding on defense. They shut out the Invaders with a final score of 26-0, meaning their defense has only given up 6 points in their last 3 games.
The game got off to a wild start. Normandy received the opening kickoff and it seemed they were off to the perfect start. Junior Nick Williams returned the kick 92 yards for a score, but unfortunately for him it was called all the back due to a holding call. Now starting at the 20 yard line, the bad news got worse for the Invaders. They went for a handoff on the first play but the exchange was mishandled and Bay recovered the fumble in great field position.
After the big break the Rockets offense got to work. They ran a few positive runs and got down to the one yard line. Getting up to the ball the offense changed into a formation much like the famous “tush push”, most popularly run by the Philadelphia Eagles. It worked to perfection for the rockets as running back Charlie Rodgers was pushed across the goal line. After a blocked PAT, Bay went up 6-0 with 9:11 left in the first quarter.
The Invaders got the back and quickly found themselves in a 3rd and long situation. Wanting to make a splash, they ran a trick play. The quarterback flipped it to running back Rajanard Brown where he looked downfield to pass. He launched it down the sideline, but due to an underthrown pass, Rockets safety Ethan Sedivec snagged the jumped ball.
Bay once again took advantage of great field position. This drive was highlighted by Rocco Ereditario. Ereditario ran the ball 4 times for 38 yards on the drive and punched in a score from 13 yards out. After a successful PAT the rockets went up 13-0 with 3:55 left in the first quarter.
The second quarter was much quieter on the field. Both teams tallied a punt in the second quarter while playing very conservatively. They both tried to establish the run but to not much avail. This resulted in a lot of burned clock and the half finished off with an unsuccessful 4th down attempt from the Invaders. The game went into the break with the score still at 13-0 in favor of the Rockets.
The start of the second half continued the slow play from the second quarter. Bay started with the ball and it looked like they were on a promising drive. It ended up stalling out just past mid field with the Invader defense forcing a turnover on downs.
Normandy’s offense still struggled to get things going and weren’t able to capitalize off the good defensive play. They punted it back to the rockets where they would get back to their first quarter ways.
Bay did a great job of mixing the pass and run on this drive. They had big chunk plays from both the air and the ground on their third scoring drive. The first play was a tough 27 yard run from Ereditario where he broke 3 tackles. The next was on the following play where quarterback Patrick Cleary found his receiver Ethan George over the middle for a 34 yard score. This put Bay up 19-0 late in the 3rd quarter.
Normandy opened the final quarter with the ball needing to make something happen to stay in the game. They dropped back to pass on the first play and safety Ethan Sedivec came up with his second interception of the game. It didn’t seem to mean much as the Invader defense forced a 3 and out, but Normandy handed over their 4th turnover of the game after a muffed punt.
The Rockets started their drive just outside the 20 yard line after the muff. On 3rd down Ereditario was given a hand off the middle and took it in for his second score, this time from 19 yards out. After the PAT Bay extended their lead to 26-0 with 9 minutes left to play.
The rest of the game consisted of both teams running the ball to let the clock run out. Bay forced a turnover on downs and then ran it out to finish with a 26-0 victory.
Bay starred in the trenches all night long. They ran for a total of 120 yards and 3 touchdowns. On the other side their defense held the invaders to just 64 yards while also forcing 3 turnovers and 1 on special teams.
Bay looks to build on their now 3 game win streak next week as they take on Buckeye at home. Normandy looks to break their 2 game skid with a win next week on the road at North Olmstead.
Player of the game
Bay Rockets RB/LB Rocco Ereditario – 9 carries for 100 yards and 2 touchdowns. 9 tackles 2 TFLs
