The Tigers extended their winning streak to four as they prevailed in a close battle against the Troy Trojans 46-38. The Tigers are now 6-3 on the season and 4-1 in district play.
“I felt like the kids really locked in and engaged in the game plan,” RHS Head Coach Jacob Campsey said. “We made Troy match our mentality and physicality.”
The Tigers came out of the gates on fire with Cam’ron Valdez burning the Trojan defense with a 58-yard touchdown run. The running game continued to gash the Trojans later in the quarter as Kesean Raven would garner a 58-yard touchdown run of his own. The extra point was good on both touchdowns making the score 14-0 at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, quarterback Kobe Mitchell connected with Cedric Mitchell on an 11-yard touchdown pass. The extra point pushed the Tiger lead to 21.
Troy got on the board in the quarter with running back Zach Hrbacek punching in a one-yard touchdown run.
Later in the quarter, the Mitchell connection would strike again with Kobe Mitchell dialing-up a 22-yard touchdown pass to Cedric Mitchell. The point after kick was blocked.
On the last drive of the quarter, Hrbacek would return the ensuing kickoff down to Rockdale’s oneyard line. Hrbacek finished the drive with a three-yard touchdown as time expired. Rockdale led 27-14 at halftime.
In the third quarter, the Tiger offense continued to dominate the game. Valdez would score the first touchdown of the half with a two-yard touchdown run. The Tigers struck again in the quarter as Kobe Mitchell found Raven on a 10-yard touchdown pass. The two-point conversion was no good making the score 39-14 at the end of the quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the Trojans would make their best attempt at a comeback. Troy’s Hunter Martin scored on a threeyard touchdown. The twopoint conversion attempt was good.
The Tigers responded on the next drive with Raven scoring his third touchdown of the evening on a three-yard run. The point after attempt was no good.
The Trojan offense would keep fighting as Jace Carr scored on a one-yard run. Hrbacek earned the two-point conversion on a three-yard run.
On the next kickoff, the Tigers would muff the catch and the Trojans recovered the ball. Hunter Martin punched in a fouryard touchdown. Hrbacek would again convert the two-point conversion cutting the Tiger lead to just eight points.
The Tigers recovered the onside kick and earned a first down to end the game.
The Tiger offense was on fire all night as they obtained 520 yards of total offense. Kobe Mitchell went 7 of 11 for 172 passing yards, 25 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Valdez had his second best performance of the season with 16 carries for 221 yards and two touchdowns. Hagan Land led the team in receiving with one catch for 62 yards while Raven went for 95 rushing yards, 10 receiving yards and three total touchdowns.
For the defense, lineman Ty Mayberry led the Tigers with 12 tackles. Linebacker Cade Pantaleon and defensive lineman Gavin Aguilar also had great outings recording 11 tackles a piece.
With only one regular season game remaining, Coach Campsey explained how proud he was of his team and how they have turned things around from a few weeks ago.
“These kids have fought through a lot of adversity to get to this point,” Campsey said. “When you look at the Rockdale Tigers after the McGregor game, you’re probably looking at a team that’s just trying to get to the playoffs. Now the guys have worked their way back to having a chance to win the district.”
The Tigers will look to win their first district championship since the 2016-2017 season as they prepare to face the 6-2 Lorena Leopards on Friday at home.
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