It was not the fluid, mistake-free performance Richard Montgomery was looking for, but the result was everything twenty RM seniors could hope for as they defeated Randallstown 30-14 on Senior Night. The victory ensured the Rockets a home field advantage when they match up against Northwest in the first round of the playoffs next Friday.

In one of the most peculiar kickoffs seen in high school football, Jakob Chumtong, senior kicker and linebacker, kicked off in the first quarter and the ball struck a player on the first line of Randallstown’s kick return unit. Chumtong was able to recover the live football.

Better said in his own words: “Coach said ‘deep right.’ I said ‘alright, I’ll kick it deep right.’ I kicked it, and it didn’t go deep right, it went right to the middle guy. So I kicked it and I ran and I saw the ball in front of my hands and I was ready to go, ready to juke eleven people, but then they blew the whistle.”

Like the botched kickoff by the Rockets, which turned into an onside recovery and later led to a touchdown, Friday’s game was not always pretty, but it was enough. Randallstown arrived at Richard Montgomery at 6:30, which was the scheduled start of the game, and were only allotted fifteen minutes to warm up. Kickoff took place at 7:00, behind schedule, and for the start, it appeared Randallstown were still trying to warm up.

The Rockets took complete control of the first quarter and beginning of the second. It should have continued. However, the gaps that allowed three RM rushing touchdowns and a 21 point lead thirty seconds into the second quarter were all plugged up. It simply was “not good enough,” as Coach Klotz yelled after giving up a touchdown and a 2-point conversion with 6 minutes left in the first half.

RM would eventually rack up 297 rushing yards between junior Tylen Hebron and seniors Jhordan Greene and Gabe Gomez on the night. Yet once again the defense would secure the victory after Randallstown drew the game within a touchdown following a 40-yard fumble return for a score in the third quarter. Three interceptions by the Rockets kept the Rams out of reach, and ensured a home field against Northwest.

Senior Daniel Alexander was held without an offensive touchdown on Friday, but did come through with an interception with eight minutes remaining to stymie Randallstown’s efforts to draw the game closer. “We felt embarrassed giving up a touchdown in the first half,” Alexander said. “We felt that we had to step it up, cause they were coming back […] We just kept the foot on the gas pedal on defense and shut them out in the second half.”

In reality, the defensive performance was another top-notch effort. The Rockets defense only allowed seven points, the fumble return score drawing it closer. “Good thing about us, we took advantage of their mistakes,” Coach Klotz said. Whether it be the kickoff that fell back into Chumtong’s hands, which led to one of three Tylen Hebron rushing touchdowns, or two of the three interceptions, RM capitalized.

This year’s seniors are the first graduating class to have had Coach Klotz in all four years to finish the regular season with a 9-1 record. Coach Klotz started in the offseason of their freshman year. It is Richard Montgomery’s best record since the days of legendary Coach Roy Lester in the 1960’s, and the State Championship team of 1981.

“We’ve definitely grown a lot, we’ve put stuff together,” senior Luis Orellana said. “Freshman year on JV, us seniors had a losing record. Last two seasons, 2-8. I feel like this year we put it all together. A lot of the young guys came through for us.”

“The great thing is it’s not over,” Coach Klotz added. “They’ve created an opportunity for themselves to keep playing more games and I know the seniors, they don’t want to finish playing high school football. They don’t want it to end.”

Perhaps the most amazing part is that next Friday will be the first playoff game held at Roy Lester Stadium in its seven year history. Even more dramatic, it appears this will be RM’s first playoff game at Richard Montgomery since at least 1972. In the 2005 trip to the playoffs, the Rockets did not have home field advantage, nor did the Rockets in the playoff run of 1981.

“There’s going to be a big push, [the seniors] already talked about it, to make more games for themselves. Each game they win, they’ll get another one,” Coach Klotz said of the seniors. The only loss of the season for Richard Montgomery came at the hands of Northwest, their first playoff opponent.

In that lightning-delayed game played at Northwest, the first half was plagued with early turnovers by the Rockets. RM will need to play both halves well to defeat the Jaguars at Roy Lester Stadium. The Rockets had won the second half 12-7, but were unable to dig themselves out of the hole created by the first quarter.