Story by Kadin Rogers
The Monmouth-Roseville Titans football team was back in action this past Friday night, facing off in an important matchup on the road against a longtime rival in the Rockridge Rockets. With both teams coming in with unblemished 7-0 records, the hype for this game was at a fever pitch, but it would be Rockridge living up to the moment in a 48-12 statement win.
After the Titans kicked off to start the game, much like a heavyweight boxing match, both teams took their time to feel each other out, with both offenses starting the game by trading punts. Rockridge found some momentum near the end of the first quarter, ending the first in Titans territory, ultimately drawing first blood on a 17 yard touchdown pass from quarterback Cullen Schwigen to Thomas Sowards to start the second quarter. Another M-R three and out gave way to the Rockets continuing to move the ball downfield, and facing a crucial 4th down, receiver Owen Steele came down with a prayer in the end zone over two Titans defenders to increase their early lead to 14-0. Offensively, Monmouth-Roseville started to put together their best drive of the game, however after an offensive pass interference call pushed them back to a 3rd and long, disaster struck as Wyatt Osborne took a 50 yard pick six to the house to increase the Rockridge lead, then after a Titans punt the Rockets scored once again with seconds left in the half on a 59 yard touchdown reception from Owen Steele to send the game to half with a 28-0 Rockridge lead.
Playing for pride in the second half, the Titans would find some success in closing the scoring gap. Rockridge would add on first, taking advantage of an interception with a 15 yard Tanner Dye touchdown run. Monmouth-Roseville tacked on back to back touchdowns on their next offensive drives, the first one being Nick Huston scoring from 14 yards out after a big run on a fake punt from Lars Bergren, and the next being Bergren himself scoring from 22 yards out to trim the Rockets lead to 34-12. However the Rockets would match with two scores of their own in the fourth quarter, closing the book an a dominant 48-12 win from Rockridge. Monmouth-Roseville, now sitting at 7-1 on the season, will look to shake the loss off next Friday night in another big contest, taking on the 1A ranked Sterling Newman Comets at Coach Dobry Field for senior night.
For the replay of the WMOI broadcast of the game, click HERE
