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The Rockbridge County High School Wildcats (0-5) continued their losing streak after a devastating 50-6 Valley District football loss to Broadway at home on Friday night.
RC head coach Martin Cox said the guys on his team had a good week at practice and felt more confident going into this game.
“But Broadway is a good team, and we couldn’t put it together,” he said.
He attributed the youth and inexperience of the guys on his team for why the ’Cats continue to fall short, but he also said, “At some point we can’t keep using that excuse, and we got to get better.”
The Gobblers (3-2) set the pace early, taking a 15-0 lead in the first quarter and not letting up all night. Quarterback Uriah Rutan controlled the ball well for his team, both in the air and using his own legs. In the fourth quarter, running back Herschel Hoffeditz took most of the handoffs. The ’Cats struggled to bring down the 220-pound senior, who was a workhorse for the Gobblers.
Freshman quarterback Elijah Watkins got some reps on the field for RC when starter Jayden Layman came out after getting drilled to the ground on an incomplete pass play midway through the first quarter. Watkins had a promising first pass attempt, going deep and accurate down the field to receiver Simon Emore. Emore just barely missed pulling the ball in after toggling it in his hands.
While the scoreboard doesn’t show it, Cox said a couple of guys had the best game they’ve played so far on defense, which has been an all-around area of focus for his team at practice.
“[Caden] Culp and [Caiden] Cavazos,” he said, “they improved their performance noticeably.”
With just under three minutes left in the first quarter, Culp, a linebacker, had a big stop on second down for the Gobblers that brought up third-and-long. Flags were thrown on the following play against Broadway for a block in the back. Rutan attempted a street-style sweep play on third-and-17, but only gained a yard before the ball was punted away to the ’Cats.
The score was 43-0 to start the fourth quarter, and Broadway was still pushing the pace. Hoffeditz took an early handoff and poked through the holes in the RC defense for a big gain, but he was dragged out of bounds by Cavazos before getting too far down the left lane.
The Gobblers scored for the final time on the night after converting a first down on fourthand- seven. Wide-open receiver Isaac Wouters got the ball inside the 15-yard line. Jeremiah Lathe finished the touchdown drive by shifting through the middle of the pack at the line of scrimmage and into the end zone. The score was 50-0 with 5:55 left in the game.
The ’Cats were not ready to give up though, regardless of the outcome. Layman, who returned to the game in the second half, was doing whatever he could to get at least one score on the board for his team. He attempted a deep pass to Emore down the right, but again, Emore barely missed the reception with good coverage on him, tipping the ball just out of his hands. Layman kept the ball on the next play for a solid run, and then Elijah Fox picked up a 26-yard gain with 4:00 left.
Junior Daniel Grimm had a big play on second-and-12 with about three minutes remaining. After making the catch, he got the ball to the 6-yard line to bring up the ’Cats’ initial first-and-goal of the night. Running back Ryan Maxwell got the handoff and was taken down in the end zone for the TD. The home crowd, still present, was ecstatic. But the two-point conversion was no good.
RC tried for the onside kick, but it went out of bounds, allowing Broadway to take over at its own 47-yard line. The Wildcats stood strong for the final minute of the game and didn’t allow the Gobblers to answer with any final points.
Cox encourages his team to keep pushing through blowout games like these.
“‘We’ve gotta be better, gotta stick to it. We can’t give up and gotta keep fighting,’” he said he tells the ’Cats.
“They’ve been responding to it well,” he added.
The Wildcats return to action on Friday with a 7 p.m. kickoff at Valley opponent East Rockingham.
