The Rockets’ defense shined under the lights as they defeated Northwest High School in their second-ever home playoff game.

The stage was set between the RM Rockets and the Northwest Jaguars on a cool Friday night at Roy Lester Stadium. The Rockets had clinched the home-field advantage for the first round of the playoffs after last week’s victory at Randallstown High School, as they finished the season with a record of 9-1, their only loss from Northwest.

After the national anthem, during which a handful of Rocket football players and cheerleaders raised their right fists in support of the equal rights movement, the captains met for the coin toss. RM won the toss and chose to defer, giving Northwest the first possession of the game.

After the kickoff by senior Juver Diaz, the Jaguars started their possession on their 28 yard line. After a first down rush, Northwest’s running back Juwon Farri took a handoff from quarterback Chris Craddock to run it for 60 yards and the game’s first touchdown just two plays into the game. With the PAT through the uprights, Northwest began with a 7-0 lead less than a minute into the game.

Shortly thereafter, RM’s offense came onto the field for their first possession, now all the more motivated. On a crucial third down, junior quarterback Spencer Silverstein threw a pass to fellow junior Avery Reeves-Williams, who caught it and broke tackles for a 22 yard gain. Just two plays later, Silverstein lobbed up a pass to senior Zaire Mitchell-Paden, who brought it just a few yards short of the end zone. On the very next play, senior captain Tylen Hebron ran his first touchdown of the game. Diaz knocked in the extra point, tying the game at 7-7.

After multiple defensive stops with impressive pass coverage by junior Daryn Alexander and outstanding pass rush from seniors Xzavier Blackmone and Andy Marlin, the Rockets were able to hold the Jaguars from scoring at the end of the first quarter, keeping the game tied.

The second quarter opened with Northwest on the offensive. On fourth down with three yards to go, senior Jack Fonseca and junior Adam Tounkara kept the Northwest’s running back at the line of scrimmage, forcing their third turnover on downs of the half.

The Rockets were forced to punt away after two consecutive sacks on Silverstein. Hebron punted the ball deep, and the fair catch was called inside Northwest’s ten yard line.

On the very first play of the Jaguars’ drive, Farri ran in his second touchdown of the game, from 94 yards out. The PAT, however, was blocked by junior Treavon Parsons, limiting the Northwest lead to just six points by a score of 13-7 with 7:42 to go in the half.

After senior Enrique Zuniga returned the kickoff, RM was set to begin their drive on their 25 yard line. On the first play of the possession, Hebron answered Northwest’s call, scoring his second touchdown of the game on a 75 yard handoff from Silverstein. Diaz converted the PAT, putting RM up 14-13 with three minutes before halftime.

With time running down in the half, Northwest faced a fourth down and one in Rocket territory. The ball was handed to Farri who made his way to the outside, only to be met by Daryn Alexander and Tylen Hebron, who brought him down to force a turnover. The Rockets ran out the clock to go to halftime, holding onto their 14-13 lead.

After an amazing performance by the RM Pom Squad, both teams returned to the field for the second half. Zuniga fielded the kickoff again, battling his way to the 28 yard line. After converting a third down on a QB run by Silverstein, the Rockets’ drive was looking to be promising. On first down, Hebron took another handoff and exploded to the outside behind great blocking by sophomore Abubakar Audu and junior Nicholas Wissinger for a 62 yard score. Diaz notched the extra point, and extended the Rockets’ lead to 21-13 early on in the half.

The Rockets continued their defensive dominance behind sophomore Kiarash Afshar and junior Treavon Parsons, containing the running back and hitting the quarterback on multiple occasions. The two schools continued to trade possessions, each with impressive defensive efforts. As the clock hit zero, RM maintained a 21-13 lead with just one quarter left to play.

The final quarter of play began with a crucial fourth and short for Northwest. Northwest’s Craddock kept the ball to himself and tried to lunge for the first down, but was immediately met by Avery Reeves-Williams who forced and recovered a fumble, giving the ball back to RM and igniting the crowd while doing so.

The Rockets were unable to string together a productive drive, punting after just three downs. Northwest took over in their own territory, but quickly made up their lost ground with back to back 20-plus yard completions from Craddock. After a huge sack by Parsons and a great pass deflection from senior Gregory Heredia, the Rockets contained the Jaguars to a fourth down. However, an offsides penalty against the Rockets awarded the Jaguars a first down, inching them closer to the end zone.

Northwest soon found themselves up against the goal line with just under six minutes to play. After a short run pushed them to the one yard line, the ball was handed off again to Farri. Farri was hit by Parsons, who stripped the ball away on the goal line. Xzavier Blackmone fell on the ball, recovering it for the Rockets and saving the potential game-tying score for the Jaguars.

With the home crowd cheering loudly, RM began their possession with 5:20 to play in the game with their eight point lead. Tylen Hebron put the team on his back once again as he converted a third down deep in RM territory with a 27 yard running gain. The Rockets continued to feed him the ball as they continued their drive. On first down, with just seconds to play, Silverstein kept the ball and pushed through the defense, reaching the end zone in epic fashion. After the PAT, the Rockets led by a score of 28-13.

As the clock hit zero, the RM students stormed the field as they celebrated their school’s’ first playoff victory since 1981.

Senior Tylen Hebron, who racked up 330 rushing yards to go with three touchdowns and 11 tackles spoke on his emotions in regards to the game that could have been his last for RM. “This win was just so deserving because we literally had the best week of practice all year, it felt unreal when I continued to fight through fatigue and kept punching Northwest in the mouth,” said Hebron with a ear-to-ear grin when surrounded by his teammates, family, and friends.

The Rockets look to continue their playoff run next Friday at Quince Orchard High School in the 4A Regional Finals.