Richard Montgomery fell back to earth after losing to Northwest, defending two-time state champions, 29-12. The loss snapped the Rockets’ undefeated record, yet they still lead the Class 4A North Division. A sloppy first half of turnovers after a 90-minute lightning delay, and only 26 yards and one first down for the Rockets led to an irreversible halftime deficit, 22-0.

The Rockets’ defense still performed well against Northwest, who had everything to play for. Friday night was Northwest’s Homecoming game, dampened by a torrential rain and lightning storm. Also, Northwest’s playoff hopes were on the line as they went into the game at 3-2.

It really was a tale of two halves for the Rockets. It was a demoralizing first quarter, starting with a Richard Montgomery fumble, a safety, an interception, and countless penalties which kept the defense on the field. In fact, RM’s defensive unit stopped the Jaguars from scoring in RM territory on the first three drives, but finally gave up a touchdown late in the first quarter after an interception gave Northwest another short field.

“A lot of the reason we were down 22-0 at halftime was simply our own fault,” Coach Klotz said. “Our first five offensive plays we had a fumble, a pick, and a snap into the end zone for a safety. Those are a lot of self-inflicted errors that put us in that position.”

For a fleeting moment, it seemed RM may be able to sneak their way back into the game. On the second drive of the second half, RM more than doubled their first half yardage. Senior Daniel Alexander came down with a fade thrown by sophomore quarterback Spencer Silverstein for RM’s first points of the night.

“We challenged our guys at halftime, and said that, we as coaches would learn a lot about them, with what they did in the second half,” Coach Klotz said, “and they would learn a lot about each other with how they came out and how they played.”

Momentum on RM’s side, Jakob Chumtong intercepted Northwest, and RM took advantage of the short field after a one yard quarterback keeper by Silverstein paid off, bringing RM closer, 12-29.

In the fourth quarter, Northwest fumbled at the RM four-yard line, but the Rockets were not able to take advantage after they eventually faced a third and thirty, and a fumble recovered by the Jaguars sealed their fate.

While RM did win the second half 12-7, the first half dug the Rockets in a hole too deep to climb out of. “If we get that same effort in the first half, then who knows what happens, it’s a whole different game,” Coach Klotz said.

Even with the loss, some positives can be taken away from a game against their toughest opponent of the season so far. “Second half we came out. First half we were down on ourselves, but we came back out and did what we had to do to play with an elite team,” senior Jhordan Greene said. “It proved we can play with other teams, we just need to execute next time we see them in the playoffs.”

Freshman Noah Fine got significant playing time on the defensive line Friday night. “I feel like my effort in practice is shown on the field, you know, it just turned out that coach moved me up and so I did what I could,” Fein said. Fein made several tackles, including a sack in the first quarter.

Although a freshman, Fein was a bright spot on the stormy night at Northwest. “What we [have to] learn is that we have to play the whole game, we have to be consistent, and just stay on the gas pedal the whole time and continue pushing forward, and just not stop,” Fein continued. “We can’t afford to wait until the second half before we floor it.”

Richard Montgomery have a short week to prepare for Poolesville, which will be played away on Thursday night. “We’re not where we want to be right now,” Coach Klotz said. “But on the other hand, it serves as a wakeup call. We can hang with an elite team in the county when we want to, when we put it all together.

“Challenge will be tomorrow in film and then Monday in practice to work on getting consistent, putting it all together, and trying to put that all on the field on Thursday,” Coach Klotz said. “Thursday is a huge game for our playoff hopes.”