Reporter staff writer
TEAGUE—In Rockdale’s season opener, what appeared to be an easy victory quickly turned into a battle until the end.
The game started off hot for the Tigers, as they led 17-0 with a little more than eight minutes to go in the first half. However, the Lions came back to life not too long after and marched ahead of RHS. Teague scored 23 unanswered swered points scored throughout the s e c ond a nd third quarseemed quarter, keeping t he Blue and-Gold on their feet.
As Teague seemed to be running away with the game in the second half, the Tigers found hope in the form of Kemar Spencer. The junior running back helped his team regain the lead early in the final quarter. Spencer scored again with another goalline touchdown. This put RHS up 31-29 with about five minutes left in the game.
Momentum continued to sway towards the Tigers, as senior linebacker Cade Pantaleon recovered a fumble at Teague’s 29. This led to junior quarterback Blaydn Barcak scoring from the three, giving Rockdale an ideal 38-29 lead.
With a little more than two minutes left in the game, Teague had one final drive.
The Lions made their way down to the Tiger 23-yard line after Zak Leija found receiver Jehmel Rice open for a 37-yard pass. Then an offensive penalty pushed Teague back to the Tiger 33.
On the next play, senior Tristan Galvan covered Rice closely, which led to Leija’s pass being incomplete. plete. Af ter that, RHS sophomore Tim Grice made a diving catch, getting his first interception of the year and sealing his team’s first victory of the 2022 season.
Following the game, Tiger head coach Jacob Campsey said he was proud of his team’s effort and how they responded to difficult circumstances.
“We never quit,” he said. “That was some pretty serious adversity (to face) when you go up 17-0.”
“And frankly, I’ll take the blame for a couple things,” he added. “We got the ball inside the 15-yard line three times and only came away with three points. I did not call very good plays. The execution was there, but if I would have put them in a better spot, I think we would have been up 35-7 at the half.”
Campsey also talked about how his team displayed the mentality that they’ll need to survive their tough schedule, which features three teams that have won state champions over the past two seasons. “To go down in a hostile environment like Teague and then to have three big drives to answer is a characteristic that we’re going to need every Friday night this year,” he said. “We’re going to need that characteristic to win games.”
“I saw great body language on the sidelines,” he continued. “I saw teammates lifting each other up and that was a situation that we could’ve let get ugly and we didn’t. That’s a testament to their character, so we’re heading in the right direction as far as that goes. I’m so proud of that.”
STATS— Spencer was the leading rusher for the Tigers, with a varsity career high of 18 carries on 112 yards and two touchdowns. Robert Owens was Rockdale’s top receiver with 11 catches for 193 yards and one TD. Barcak had an eighty percent completion rate (16-20) and threw for 220 yards with a touchdown pass and an interception. The Tiger junior also rushed for 120 yards on 20 attempts with two touchdowns. Galvan led the team in tackles with six while Pantaleon had five.
TAYLOR— Although Rockdale has a little bit of history with Teague, that history pales in comparison to the history that the Tigers have with their next opponent, long time rival Taylor.
The two schools will play for the 88th time in a series that the Ducks lead 46-38-3. Despite THS having nearly 2.5 times the enrollment of RHS, the Tigers have won six of their last seven matchups against the Class 4A-I school.
The Williamson County team has struggled over the years, not winning a game in 2019 or 2020, but improved last year with three wins.
Last s e a son’s victories were under the direction of Brandon Houston, or “Huey” as many Tigers fan know him. An offensive coordinator on 2017 Tiger state champion team, Huey worked with Campsey during that season.
“Coach Huey’s one of my best friends,” Campsey said. “We talk every day.”
“ We’ l l probably get together for lunch Saturday after the game,” he added. “We did that last year.”
The Tiger head coach also mentioned how much of a benefit having a team like Taylor is on their schedule. “ Y o u like playing team’s like that because you know they’re going to be wel lcoached and they’re going to have a scheme you have to practice against,” he said. “It prepares us for our district schedule. That’s what I love about playing him and those guys and they’re even better this year. So we’ll have our hands full, especially since they’re two classifications bigger than us.”
LAST WEEK— Houston’s Ducks fell to Gatesville 22-21 in their season opener after a successful two-point conversion in the final quarter lifted GHS over THS.
Taylor still has receiver Jarvis Anderson, a multisport athlete who qualified for the Class 6A state track meet as a sophomore at Round Rock’s McNeil High School in 2020 and only missed out on the 2021 Class 4A state meet because he was invited to a junior Olympic competition in Brazil that same week.
The Ducks also have senior quarterback Ryan Valdez, who was 13 of 18 in the pocket but averaged 5.6 yards per pass with only one receiver accumulating more than 25 total yards the entire evening.
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