SAN SABA—A two-touchdown lead with seven minutes lef t in the third quarter wasn’t enough for the Tigers to beat Jim Ned, who the Blue-and-Gold lost to on Friday night, 22-21. The Tigers got off to a hot start early in the game when RHS junior Gerren Marrero got an interception on the f irst ser ies to set his team up at the Jim Ned 37. This led to junior Blaydn Barcak scoring on a goal-line run with 7:59 to go in the first quarter, putting Rockdale up 7-0.
The first quarter ended with both teams tied at seven, as Jim Ned’s Brayden Shipman also punched the ball in on a drive that lasted six minutes and 27 seconds.
Early in the next quarter, Rockdale fired back when Barcak found senior Robert Owens open, who ran the ball up to the oneyard line. Barcak scored again on the next play, regaining his team’s seven- point lead with a little more than 10 minutes to play in the first half. The Tigers jumped ahead even more mid-way through the third when sophomore Tim Grice ran the ball up the left side for a four-yard TD, increasing Rockdale’s lead to 21-7.
JNHS clawed back with an eight-play drive that ended with a three-yard touchdown by quarterback Troy Duran. At the close of the third quarter, Rockdale led 21-14. Fo r mu c h of the four th quarter, each team displayed defensive dominance as both turned the ball over on downs during their first series of the final quarter. The Blue-and-Gold were in a somewhat ideal situation, getting the ball back with 5:03 left in the game.
The Tiger s star ted winding down the game clock, running the ball on the first two plays of the series. On play number three, Barcak made a pass intended for Owens which was intercepted by defender Justin Armor. Jim Ned had the ball at the Rockdale 27 with 3:58 left. They scored three plays later on a 24-yard pass from Doran to Breydon Walker. Jim Ned took the lead for the first time that evening after as Doran ran into the right side of the end zone for a successful two-point conversion to make it 22-21 with 2:29 left in the game. With one last chance to score, the Tigers fumbled the following kick-off. The ball was recovered by Jim Ned’s Carter Wood.
The Taylor County team ran out the clock and won the game, handing Rockdale their third straight loss.
Blue-and-Gold head coach Jacob Campsey was distraught after the game and said he takes the entirety of the blame.
“ To be honest w ith you, it was one-hundred percent on me,” Campsey said. “Those kids did everything they could, (our) team played well enough to win that game.”
“ This one just hur ts because it’s on me. We ask our kids to do this, this and that and they do it all,” he continued. “But then I make a really bad call at the end of the game that puts us in a bad spot. When you’re in it for the kids and in this (profession) for the right reasons, it hurts. It hurts me, because they did everything they were suppose to do.”
STATS— Barcak was the team’s leading rusher with 74 yards on 15 carries and Owens was Rockdale’s top receiver with 63 yards on seven catches. Cade Pantaleon led the Blue-and-Gold on defense with four solo tackles while Grice and Marrero each had three.
THIS WEEK— Unlike the six other teams in District 11-3A-I, RHS is off this week. They return to action on Friday, Sept. 30, when they host Franklin.
As of Monday, the Lions are Texas Football magazine’s top-ranked team in Class 3A-I with an undefeated record after their first four outings.
SEASON— Rockdale opened their season on Friday, Aug. 26, in Teague, where t hey beat T HS, 38-29.
Since then, the Tigers have lost three straight, including their most recent contest with Tuscola-Jim Ned.
In week two, they faced off with longtime rival Taylor, who is now two UIL classifications larger than RHS, 55-41.
In week three, Rockdale fell to Lexington, 33-18. The Eagles are now the 10-ranked team in Class 3A-II.
- Log in or Subscribe to post comments.