Richard Montgomery football came out of a dogfight against Wootton as victors, with much thanks falling to the defense. The nail-biting 21-20 victory featured two fourth down stops by the Rockets’ defensive unit in the last three minutes to secure the game. The Rockets are now 4-0 for the first time since 2002.

It appeared that the Rockets would continue on their hot offensive streak after a strong run by Tylen Hebron and a beautiful throw and catch between Spencer Silverstein and Daniel Alexander worked for scores. The one-handed snag by Alexander put the Rockets up 14-0 in the second quarter.

The momentum would completely turn in Wootton’s favor after a sneak onside kick by the Rockets failed. “It was there, we just didn’t kick it ten yards. [Wootton] bailed on the kick. They had two lineman in the front line that we kicked it to, we just didn’t kick it ten yards,” Coach Klotz said.

The onside kick, right after the Alexander touchdown, completely fooled Wootton, and it was something seen in the tapes over the week by Coach Klotz and his staff. Wootton took advantage of the short field to score a touchdown, and the lead quickly dwindled for the Rockets.

After Wootton blocked the rugby-style punt by the Rockets in the third quarter, Wootton scored a touchdown on another short field, putting them ahead, 14-17.

However, soon after, senior captain Michael Silver would make a lasting impression, blocking Wootton’s punt this time. Silverstein would complete the first play from scrimmage from Wootton’s sixth yard line, a fade route to junior Gregory Heredia, for a touchdown, making the game 21-17. It would be the only points necessary for RM’s defense to hold off the Patriots.

While the running game was less effective than previous weeks for the Rockets, the defense saved the game. “We definitely stepped up. We gave up some touchdowns on short yardage situations, but we made up for it,” senior defensive back Luis Orellana said. “We made two significant stops at the end. I am just proud of our defense because we definitely stepped up, and that game was on us, we just need to make up for the offense.”

Senior linebacker Leo Simon was injured for this game, and his gap was filled admirably by junior Zavier Ledyard. “I’ve been watching him throughout the whole week of practice,” Simon said of Ledyard, “I made sure that he knows exactly what he has to do.

“He’s actually a backup for all three of our linebackers, and last week during the Rockville game […] he had to play the fourth quarter and he played the entire quarter great.”

For Ledyard, it’s really a next man up philosophy. “It was a difficult job, Leo’s a big man, he’s a big player, and it’s really unfortunate what happened to him,” Ledyard said. “We all got to carry our own weight, so I knew I had to step up and do the job.

“It was definitely a tough challenge, those were some big shoes to fill you know, but I’m just happy I was able to support the team the best way I could. I hope Leo does get better soon but until then, I’ll do all that my team needs me to do. I’ll be here for them.”

With 5 minutes left in the game, Wootton were stopped inside of the RM 10 yard line, and elected to kick a field goal. Hindsight being 20/20, they would not get another chance to overtake the Rockets.

Two fourth down stops by the Rockets defense inside of three minutes left in the game solidified the one point advantage. Silver made two of the biggest tackles of the night in the first four-and-out by Wootton. “We knew we had to come out, this was going to be our toughest opponent yet. You’ve gotta give credit to them, they never stopped, they were going till twenty seconds left. At the end of the day, we had more depth and we came out and we wanted it more,” Silver said.

The mixture of seniors and underclassmen on defense has worked very well thus far. “The young guys, they’ve stepped up so much,” Orellana said. “Without them, I don’t know where our defense would be. Right now, they’re our anchor, we are relying on them so much. By the time they are seniors they’ll just be eating up people.”

A laser pointer being shined from the crowd on the Wootton quarterback during the last drive almost lost RM the game. “It could’ve been a 15-yard penalty and a first down, so whoever it was is an idiot,” Coach Klotz said.

Wootton’s 1-3 record does not give them enough credit. Losses to Quince Orchard and Springbrook before Richard Montgomery are not losses to be ashamed of.

“4-0 feels great, but what feels even better is to see how far our kids, our seniors, have come. This is a team that we’ve lost two heartbreaking losses the last two years to on the last drive of the game both years,” Coach Klotz said.

“To see us in the exact same situation this year at the end of the game, and to see our guys, just how far they’ve come through hard work, and preparation, and you see that final stop with Michael Silver leading that defense on that final tackle, was just incredible.”

Richard Montgomery football take on Walter Johnson next week for RM’s Homecoming game. “Hopefully we get a great crowd again, without the laser pointer,” Coach Klotz said. “Our kids now have had two emotional games in a row, hard-fought games, and luckily we get a full week of practice finally. I know they’ll be excited again to be here in front of our home crowd.”