Wildcats Challenge Harrisonburg In 20-14 Homecoming Loss

Friday, Oct. 6 – In its closest game of the season, the Rockbridge County High School football team came up short 20-14 to Valley District rival Harrisonburg in front of a large homecoming crowd on Friday night at Prasnicki-Ross Field in Lexington.

The Wildcats (0-7 overall, 0-3 district) trailed 20-8 at halftime, but they prevented Harrisonburg (3-3, 2-0) from scoring in the second half, as the Blue Streaks won their third consecutive game. For the first time this season, the Wildcats didn’t commit any turnovers.

Previously, the Wildcats’ closest game in this rebuilding season was a 47-35 road loss last Friday at East Rockingham.

Harrisonburg scored on its first drive. Following a series of runs, quarterback JJ Engle made a 16-yard touchdown pass to Filipo Toelau. After a missed extra-point kick, the Trailblazers led 6-0 four-and-a-half minutes into the game.

The Blue Streaks then stopped the Wildcats in their own territory. After Harrisonburg received the Wildcats’ punt, Engle escaped defenders and sprinted away for a 65-yard TD run. An extra-point kick by Jonathan Biller extended the Blue Streaks’ lead to 13-0 with 4:09 left in the first quarter.

The Wildcats got their offense going on their next drive. On fourth-and-9, quarterback Jayden Layman made a 30-yard  pass to Simon Emore to advance RC to the Harrisonburg 9-yard line. Josiah Saunders then ran the ball three times to get the Wildcats closer, setting up Layman for a 3-yard TD run. Layman followed up with a two-point conversion run to cut Harrisonburg’s lead to 13-8 with 8:52 left in the first half.

Harrisonburg answered back just over a minute later when, on the second play of the next drive, VJ Bullard sprinted away fom defenders for a 67-yard TD run. Biller’s PAT extended the Blue Streaks’ lead to 20-8 with 7:47 left in the half.

During the halftime ceremony, the homecoming court was introduced, and Sawyer Hattersley was named RC’s homecoming king, while Maddie Dahl was crowned as queen.

The Wildcats scored the only points of the second half when a seriesof runs set up Layman for a 2-yard TD run with 1:09 left. A failed two-point conversion run kept the score at 20-14.

RC had a chance to score again late in the fourth quarter, getting the ball to the Harrisonburg 27-yard line with about a minute left, but an incomplete pass on fourth-and-6 gave the ball back to the Blue Streaks, who took a knee to end the game.

With lineman Brady Edwards making big tackles to lead the RC defense, the Wildcats shut out Harrisonburg in the second half.

The Wildcats will have a bye next week before continuing district action at Spotswood (6-1, 3-0) on Friday, Oct. 20, at 7 p.m.

For the story, photos and stats from the homecoming game, please see our Oct. 11 newspaper.