Despite a slow start, the Richard Montgomery football team managed to defeat Whitman in their homecoming game Friday night, 28-14.

Early in the game, the Rockets had a difficult time scoring. Even with their strong running from T’Kai Ayoola and Zion Tyler, the solid Whitman defense was able to stuff every Rocket attempt.

An RM turnover gave the Vikings the opportunity to score on a nearly 70-yard running play, followed by a kick for an extra point to make the score 7-0 in the opposing team’s favor.

Despite the disheartening mood early in game, the fans never lost faith in the team. People were constantly cheering and getting excited for every good play that the Rockets made.

Halfway through the first quarter, cornerback Jaime Castro had an interception that put the Rockets in a good position to score. However, the Whitman defense was able to stop RM in their tracks.

After a fumble that got the Rockets the ball, quarterback Spencer Silverstein hit wide receiver Austin Cheung for a 20-yard touchdown to tie the game. The crowd erupted into cheers, becoming even more energetic.

Following the touchdown, a Whitman player fumbled the ball trying to return the Rocket kickoff, which RM easily recovered. This put them in great position to score again, but Whitman sacked Silverstein three times during that drive and the Rockets were forced to punt the ball away.

During Whitman’s following attempt to score, the Rockets retaliated quickly with a series of excellent defensive stops, which included two sacks.

The Rockets made a very slow, methodical drive which included great running plays by Tyler, Ayoola and Silverstein and a smooth pass from Silverstein to get the Rockets within 10 yards of scoring. The drive concluded with a short running play by Silverstein to allow the Rockets take the lead right before the half, 14-7.

To start the second half, defensive lineman and Naval Academy commit Adam Tounkara intercepted a Whitman pass and returned it for a touchdown, extending the Rocket lead by five.

After numerous unsuccessful drives by both RM and Whitman, Whitman finally managed to rack up a few more points for themselves. However, it wouldn’t be enough to overtake the Rockets.

The majority of the second half was mostly scoreless, with both teams making excellent defensive stops. Both teams made strong drives that were both dominated by running plays, but each team’s defenses were able to stop anyone from scoring.

With two minutes left in the game, however, Tyler scored on a running play to make the score 28-14.

Throughout the game, the Rockets ran the ball well, with Tyler, Ayoola and Silverstein all contributing heavily offensively. Despite the slow start, their strategy paid off as the running game picked up and got the offense moving in the second half. “We wanted to run the ball, and we stuck to it. Things really got working around the half,” said Silverstein.

“The team’s strategy didn’t really change that much, it got simpler, in the beginning we didn’t execute as well as we wanted,” senior wide receiver and safety Rey Valentine agreed.

In addition to running the ball well, the Rockets were also very persistent, even when they were down in the first quarter. “We were really resilient, we treated every play on its own, we didn’t get down or too excited at all,” said Tounkara.

The Rockets’ next game is at Northwest High School against the Jaguars. The team is 5-1, and has beaten excellent teams such as Good Counsel and Seneca Valley.

“We want to build on what we did well tonight,” continued Valentine. “And make sure everyone does their job next week.”

The Rockets improve to 4-2 and look to get better and make the playoffs as the season continues.

Featured photo by the Tide Photos