Friday’s game against Lexington was nothing short of an instant classic. Both teams showed why they were ranked in the top 10 with many big plays and suspenseful moments. However, the Rockdale Tigers fell short, earning their first loss of the season 35-34.
“It was kind of weird game for us,” RHS Head Coach Jacob Campsey said. “I don’t feel that we got a rhythm going on either side of the ball until the fourth quarter. I feel we lacked some intensity and didn’t play with the physicality the we should have.”
The Eagles got on the board first with star running back Jarred Kerr scoring a touchdown on a 12-yard run. The Tigers responded as quarterback Kobe Mitchell used his speed to score on a 29-yard run. The score was 7-7 at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, the Eagles switched things up on offense by putting Kerr at quarterback. This proved effective as Kerr scored two more touchdowns in the quarter on a one-yard run and 12-yard pass to Caden Huckaby. The Eagles failed on their two-point conversion making the score 20-7. With time winding down in the quarter, Mitchell connected with Kesean Raven on a 15-yard touchdown pass to make the score 20-14 at the half.
In the second half, the Eagles came out aggressively. They ripped the Tiger defense with one big run after another. The Eagles got down the field and finished the drive with Kerr throwing a 24-yard touchdown pass to Jeremiah Jackson.
After this, Cam’ron Valdez got rolling with some strong runs of his own. He helped the Tigers respond with a 17-yard touchdown to bring the Tiger deficit to seven points.
In odd fashion, the Eagles bounced back as Kerr scored his fifth touchdown of the night with a 67-yard run. While Kerr appeared to be down early on in the play, the whistle was not blown. Kerr kept running for the end zone while the Rockdale defense stood confused and pleaded their case that Kerr was down. The touchdown raised the score 35-21 after three quarters.
Being down two scores in the fourth quarter, the Tigers knew they had to make plays to have any hope of winning the game. Mitchell answered the call with a three-yard touchdown to cut Lexington’s lead to seven points. On the subsequent kickoff, the Tigers recovered a bobbled catch to get the ball back. The Tigers stormed down the field in the last few minutes of the game.
Valdez scored on a seven-yard touchdown run to make the score 34-35 with 47 seconds left in the game. Instead of kicking an extra point for the tie, the Tiger coaching staff decided to go for the win. You could feel the suspense as everyone in the stadium knew this play would decide it all. As the ball snapped, Mitchell scrambled to his right towards the end zone but was stopped a few yards short of the goal line. The Lexington crowd roared while the Rockdale crowd and players released a sigh of disappointment. Lexington knelt the ball to end the game.
Mitchell had a solid game going 11 of 22 for 133 passing yards, 64 rushing yards and three total touchdowns. The offense went through Valdez as he ran for 121 yards and two touchdowns. Raven led the Tigers in receiving with six catches for 50 yards and a touchdown.
For the defense, linebacker Chase Mayfield led the team with 10 tackles and one forced fumble. Defensive Lineman Ty Mayberry also had a great showing with seven tackles.
Despite the loss, Campsey says he was impressed with the way his team was willing to fight.
“The guys not willing to give up was great to see,” Campsey said. “We were down two scores in the fourth quarter, and they never laid down. I was really proud of them for that.”
The Tigers look to bounce back as they will face the 3-0 Bellville Brahmas at home on Friday.
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