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Wildcats Defeat Streaks, 26-17
Finally getting a positive result after hard work throughout this season and last, the Rockbridge County High School football team earned its first win of the season with a 26-17 road victory over Valley District rival Harrisonburg on Friday night.
Senior Jayden Layman and sophomore Elijah Watkins each scored two touchdowns for the Wildcats (1-6 overall, 1-2 district), who snapped a 17-game losing streak that dated back to November 2022. RC’s last win was a 44-23 home victory against Harrisonburg in late October 2022. Since then, it was a daunting task to get a win, and the Wildcats’ closest game was a 20-14 home loss to Harrisonburg last October.
Proud of his team, RC head coach Martin Cox said, “I’m just really happy for the kids. Just like I’ve been saying since last year, these guys haven’t quit on us. They keep coming. Hats off to them. It’s all about them. They did what we asked them to do, and we finally got one.”
On Friday at Dr. Walter F. Green III Field, the Blue Streaks (0-6, 0-2) took a 10-0 lead in the first quarter, capitalizing on good field position after the Wildcats punted from the red zone. Harrisonburg went up 3-0 on a 29-yard field goal by Selvin Claros Ayala just over three minutes into the game. After holding the Wildcats back again and receiving a short punt, the Blue Streaks scored again when Juan Rodriguez ran for a 35-yard TD, and Ayala’s extra-point kick made it 10-0 with 7:13 left in the first quarter. Rodriguez led Harrisonburg with 82 rushing yards on 12 carries.
The Wildcats were limited to one first down in the first quarter, but they responded in the second quarter with a 3-yard TD run by Layman, and an extra-point kick by Aiden Meyers cut Harrisonburg’s lead to 10-7 with 7:27 left in the first half. After stopping the Blue Streaks in Harrisonburg territory, the Wildcats took a 13-10 lead when, after making a couple of passes, Watkins ran up the middle for a 1-yard TD with 1:15 left in the first half.
Early in the third quarter, the Blue Streaks fumbled the ball, and RC lineman Price Lunsford recovered at the RC 34-yard line. On that drive, after a series of runs and a pass, Layman made a 14-yard TD run with 4:20 left, and Meyers converted the PAT to extend RC’s lead to 20-10.
Harrisonburg trimmed the Wildcats’ lead to 20-17 when Yandel Robles completed a 20-yard TD pass to Joel Friebe-Makinto, followed by a PAT by Ayala with 2:09 left in the quarter.
RC scored the final TD of the game on a 1-yard plunge by Watkins with nine minutes left. To get the ball to the 1-yard line, running backs Layman, Pat Looney and Gabe Wade had run the ball from RC territory.
With the Wildcats’ defense stepping up again, the Blue Streaks turned the ball over on downs on their next possession, and the Wildcats took short runs and milked the clock for the remainding 7:34 of the game. A 9-yard run by Layman got RC to the Harrisonburg 4-yard line, but the Wildcats took a knee to end the game and celebrate with their coaches and fans.
Reviewing the game, Cox said, “I think the keys tonight were just, some guys stepped up and made plays. Nobody quit. It just all came together.”
“Harrisonburg, kind of the same situation we’re in,” added Cox. “They’re getting better every day, but tonight we played. Hats off to the kids. All the credit goes to them.” The Wildcats dominated offensively, racking up 401 total yards of offense, 325 on the ground and 76 through the air. Harrisonburg was held to 154 total yards of offense, 105 on the ground and 49 in the air.
Looney led RC with 125 rushing yards on 19 carries. Wade ran the ball 11 times for 90 yards, and Layman had 80 yards on 12 totes. Watkins played at quarterback for most of the game, with Layman getting in one complete pass on three attempts for no yards before switching to running. “I just fill in where they need me,” said Layman.
Watkins completed 4-of-7 passes for 76 yards and rushed for 27 yards on six carries. Joseph Dorey led RC’s receivers with three catches for 71 yards. The Wildcats had 21 first downs in the game and held Harrisonburg to just four first downs.
Rodriguez led Harrisonburg with 82 rushing yards on 12 carries, while Filipo Toelau rushed for 19 yards on two totes. Robles completed 3-of-8 passes for 49 yards and a TD.
Pleased with the win, Layman said, “It’s awesome, first one in two years. I love it.”
“We didn’t walk into it knowing we were gonna win,” added Layman. “We came in here with the intensity and something to prove. We hadn’t proven anything in two years, and we came in here and we did our assignment, and we fought for it as a team.”
As a senior, Layman felt he should step up. “I’ve got to set an example for the younger guys,” he said.
The Wildcats will have a bye this week before continuing district action with their homecoming game against Spotswood (4-3, 2-1) on Friday, Oct. 25, at 7 p.m. Spotswood, which is coming off a 45-0 win over East Rockingham, will play host to Harrisonburg this Friday.
