RM started the season off with a 47-36 victory over the Einstein Titans at Einstein High School last night.
At 6:30 PM, senior kicker Juver Diaz kicked the ball off to start the Rocket’s season. Einstein return man Chris Greaves fielded the kick, and was soon met by a huge hit from senior Zavier Ledyard. The Rockets’ defense was on shutdown mode, forcing a three-and-out for the Titans. After the change of possession, the Rockets came off with a slow start, gaining only five yards on the first two plays.
On the third down with five yards to go, senior star running back Tylen Hebron rushed up the middle for a twenty yard gain, pushing the Rockets into opponent territory. Led by junior quarterback Spencer Silverstein, the Rockets continued to drive down the field, deep into Titan territory. On first and goal, Spencer Silverstein lobbed up a fade route to junior Daryn Alexander, who snagged it down for the first score of the Rockets’ season.
On the next possession for Einstein, the Titans answered the Rockets’ call, scoring on an 80-yard bubble screen pass. They converted the extra point, giving them the lead with a score of 7-6 with 7:37 left to go in the quarter.
The ensuing drive for Rockets started at their own 20 yard line. Hebron rushed all but one play, capping off the 80-yard drive with his first touchdown of the night. The extra point from Diaz split the uprights, giving the Rockets a 13-7 lead. On the first play of the Titans’ drive, sophomore Abubakar Audu Jr. sacked and forced a fumble on Titans quarterback, Jason Clingman. After this, the Titans gave the ball back to the Rockets for what would be the final possession of the quarter.
Hebron started the possession off with a huge gain, giving the Rockets good field position as the clock started to run down. With just seconds left, on third and down and 20 due to a penalty on the Rockets, Silverstein lobbed it up to junior receiver Hunter Arbeeny, who brought it in while keeping one foot in bounds on the sideline. After that, the quarter ended with the Rockets leading 13-7.
On the first play of the second quarter, Hebron rushed to the outside, going all the way up field to score his second touchdown of the game. The extra point from Diaz put the Rockets up 20-7. Einstein answered right back with a 93-yard kick return for a touchdown, putting them back in striking range with a score of 20-14. The Titans were able to contain the Rockets’ rushing attack, forcing a three-and-out for the Rockets. The Titans duplicated the Rockets’ possession, punting the ball away after just three downs of offense.
The Rockets began their next possession with two connections between Silverstein and senior tight end Zaire Mitchell-Paden. Soon after, senior Kris Ricks took the hand-off and ran for a thirty-yard gain, only to be brought down by a questionable no-call horse-collar by an Einstein defensive back. With the ball on the goal line, the Rockets fumbled, turning the ball back over to the Titans with 4:52 to go in the half.
The Rockets held down the fort on defense, causing another three-and-out. As the Titans’ punter received the snap and made contact with the ball, the Rockets blocked the punt, and Ricks recovered the ball deep in Titan territory. As time ran down in the half, the Rocket field goal unit took the field. Diaz’s attempt was blocked. Einstein took over and kneeled to end the half. Following that, RM led Einstein with a score of 20-14.
RM was set to field the kick to start the second half. The Titans booted the ball down field, right into the arms of senior Enrique Zuniga. Zuniga rushed all the way down into Titan territory, giving Silverstein and the Rockets’ offense great starting field position. Not much longer, Tylen Hebron rushed for his third touchdown of the night with 9:18 left in the quarter. The two-point conversion was no good, but the Rockets added onto their lead with a new score of 26-14.
On the next possession for Einstein, the stage was set for a seemingly tough third-and-out for the Rockets’ defense. On third and long, Titans quarterback Jason Clingman heaved up a pass to Ebrahim Cham, who brought it down over sophomore safety Austin Cheung while clinging the ball to his helmet. He ran all the way for a touchdown, once again putting the Titans back within striking range, with a score of 26-20 with 7:09 left in the third.
The next drive for the Rockets went by in a flash. Silverstein had a string of completions to various receivers to push the Rockets into opponent territory. Kris Ricks took a handoff from Silverstein and juked his way through the Einstein defense, scoring on a 28-yard touchdown, his first of the night. The Rockets lead was extended to 32-20 with 2:57 to go in the quarter.
On the next play, Diaz delivered a surprise onside kick, and once again Kris Ricks came up big to recover it on the Einstein 30-yard line. With time winding down in the third, Silverstein kept the ball, pushing the offensive line forward into the end zone. They elected to go for the two-point conversion. Silverstein lobbed up the ball in the corner to Alexander, who brought it down over the defender while keeping his feet inbounds. The added two points extended the Rockets’ lead to 40-20 at the end of the third.
The Titans opened up the final quarter of play with a 60-yard carry deep into RM’s side of the field. On the next layer, Kris Ricks stopped the potential touchdown with an interception deep in RM’s territory. The Rockets continued to utilize the run game, but this time, it was sophomore Zion Tyler taking the carries down the field.
On a crucial fourth down play, Zuniga converted to keep the drive alive. He and Tyler kept the rushing attack going, and eventually Zuniga would run it in for the Rockets’ sixth touchdown of the game. The extra point gave the Rockets an even more extended lead with a score of 47-20 with 5:50 to go in the game.
From then on out, Einstein scored two more touchdowns while RM ran the clock down to victory. As the clock hit zero, the Rockets had clinched their first victory of season, defeating Einstein by a score of 47-36. The Rockets look to add onto their win total next Friday at home against the Kennedy Cavaliers!
