Reporter staff writer
On Friday evening, the Blue-and-Gold held their own against rival Taylor, a school that had just three wins last season, but play two UIL classifications above the Tigers as a 4A-Division I school and offered Rockdale a challenge in week two of their 2022 season.
Meeting up for the 88th time, the Ducks got an early 34-14 lead mid-way through the second quarter, thanks to scoring from running back Andrias Fisher and receiver Jarvis Anderson, who recently had an official visit with the University of Nebraska’s track and field program.
Although outmatched by a much bigger line on both sides of the ball and taller receivers that made life difficult for the Rockdale secondary, the Blue-and-Gold seemed to never back down.
Throughout the second half, when the Ducks went up two touchdowns, the Tigers would partially erase the deficit, bringing the game within one TD and keeping fans of both teams on their toes.
The game came down to its final minutes and, with the Tigers trailing, 48-34, Rockdale quarterback Blaydn Barcak brought the Blueand- Gold back within reach on a 37-yard touchdown run. A successful extra point by Daniel Romero cut the Taylor lead to seven points with 3:12 left on the clock.
However, Tiger hopes of a victory were washed away when THS quarterback Ryan Valdez found receiver Treos Richardson wide open for a 62-yard touchdown, giving the Ducks a 55-41 lead with a little over a minute left to go in the game. This was ultimately the final score and Rockdale received their first loss of the season.
Even though the evening ended on a lownote, RHS head coach Jacob Campsey said following the game that he loved the fight that his kids showed on senior night.
“I was proud of the way our guys battled all night long,” Campsey said. “We made some mistakes that if we don’t make, it’s probably tied at 35 at halftime. (But) it was a battle until the end, which is why I’m proud of these guys. We just never went away.”
The third-year Tiger coach also said he had a feeling the evening would involve a lot of scoring.
“We kind of suspected it might be a high-scoring game,” he said. “They have some dynamic athletes over there, elite athletes, honestly and they have some size.”
“It’s really hard to match up with (players that are) 6-6, 6-7, out there on the edge. We missed a lot of tackles tonight,” Campsey said. “I think that’s the one thing that sticks out without watching the film, we didn’t have people on the ground when we had the opportunities.”
It might have been senior night at Tiger Stadium, but Rockdale High School freshman De’Andre Stephens temporarily took focus off the team’s upperclassmen when he scored late in the first quarter. This 36-yard pass was also the first touchdown of his high school career.
Taylor is coached by Brandon Houston, who was a coordinator on the 2017 state championship team and is in his second year leading the Ducks. Prior to Houston arriving, the Ducks had not won a game since the 2018 season.
His offensive coordinator is Rockdale High School Class of 2014 graduate Pete Heintze, who was on the Rockdale coaching s taff i n t he f all o f 2 017 and followed Houston to Buffalo before joining him in Taylor for the 2021 season.
The Ducks now lead the rivalry 47-38-3. Rockdale has won six of their last eight meetings with the Taylor Ducks.
STATS— Leaders for the Tigers were Barcak, who was 10 of 22 for 198 yards and three touchdowns. The Rockdale junior also scored two more rushing touchdowns and had 23 carries for a total of 151 yards. Barcak’s classmate Kemar Spencer had 17 carries for 80 yards and senior Robert Owens also led the way with 178 all-purpose yards. This includes 22 on the ground, 85 receiving yards, 43 total yards on k ick-off r eturns a nd a nother 28 yards via punt returns. Sophomore Timothy Grice had a total of 116 kick-off return yards.
LEXINGTON— In their third game of the season, the Blue-and-Gold will stay at home for the second week in a row to face neighbor Lexington.
The Eagles began the pre-season ranked 16th in Class 3A-II by Dave Campbell’s Texas Football magazine and are undefeated after their first two games.
During their one and only game in August, the Eagles went back-and-fourth with Class 2A Thorndale in a game they edged out the Bulldogs in the fourth quarter, ter, 35-33. This past week, the Lee County squad faced Rockdale’s district foe Troy and beat the Trojans, 43-24. The Eagles built an early lead and maintained it thanks to three touchdowns from Daylon Washington, who played a big part in Lexington’s comeback against Thorndale the week before with multiple touchdowns in the second half.
Other big players for the Eagles are freshman quarterback Kase Evans, who was 15 of 27 last week for 322 yards and five touchdowns against Troy. The Eagles aren’t as big on rushing and had more success on the ground against the Class 2A Bulldogs than they did with Troy, which has double the enrollment of Thorndale High School.
Kick-off i s s cheduled f or 7 :30 p .m. I t is also the “Gold Out” game, which raises awareness for childhood cancer.
Rockdale High School senior Robert Owens has been a big part of the Tiger offense through the team’s first two games.
Against Taylor this past Friday, he had a total of 178 all-purpose yards.
Photo by Steve Young
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