August 25, 2001 1:30 AM
Short-handed Rocks have easy time in Rockton
By Marc Nesseler, Dispatch/Argus sports editor ROCKTON -- Figuring his team was
facing some tough odds, Rock Island football coach Vic Boblett wondered if he could bear
to watch the Rocks' game Friday night at Rockton Hononegah.
Instead, the season-opener proved to be an eye-opener, with the Rocks coming away with
a convincing, if not foretelling, 35-14 victory over the Indians at Kelsey Stadium.
With Rock Island's academic calendar switched to year-around status, Boblett's
preseason two-a-day drills had been drastically altered. That, though, was just a
surface-scratcher. Because of everything from injuries to missed practices to team-rules
violations, the Rocks had seven potential starters not in the starting lineup.
``I could have never predicted this,'' Boblett said of the lopsided victory.
``Hopefully, this gives us a glimpse of what could be if we practice with the right kind
of focus. And hopefully this can keep everybody on the straight and narrow so we can go in
with all of our guns.''
An entire starting backfield for the Rocks did not answer the opening gun. Dillon Smith
was injured late in the week, and Maurice Jones and Keenan Wright missed practices. Still,
Jones and Wright proved to be eye-popping reserves, with Jones piling up 188 yards on 17
carries and two touchdowns and Wright finishing with 41 yards on a dozen carries and one
rushing TD.
``We didn't have most of our starters and we wondered how we'd wind up,'' said Jones,
who just missed being a 1,000-yard rusher as a junior last year. ``But we learned to play
with aggression, and not worry about problems and negatives. We need to have something
like this rejuvenate us.''
And to think the Rocks overcame even more adversity. They lost three possessions to
fumbles, with two of those resulting in Hononegah's touchdowns that kept the game close
through 3 1/2 quarters. They also wound up going to their backup quarterback midway
through the second quarter.
``If only we could have had the ball in (the opening of) the second half. I thought we
were wearing them down,'' said Rockton coach Steve Stromquist.
However, the Rocks' burst of speed, highlighted by a 57-yard TD in the first quarter by
Jones, proved to be too much. ``We can't practice against that kind of speed because we
don't have it. We don't have any 60-yard runs. We've got to shorten the field and take
advantage of turnovers.''
RI went up 21-7 on a 21-yard TD pass from backup QB Tom DeBroeck to Mike Adamson, alone
in the back of the end zon midway through the third quarter. Rockton, though, cut the
deficit to seven after turning Rocky's third fumble into a 17-yard score by fullback Grant
Miller just inside the fourth quarter.
DeBroeck, though, reversed the momentum, scoring on a one-yard keeper and the adding a
two-point conversion after Jones' second TD.
``Coach said I'd get my chance to prove myself, whether it was in the second series or
third or fourth quarter,'' said DeBroeck, who like starter Chase Stephens is a junior.
Boblett made the switch after a bad pitch on the third series.
``When I got my chance, I showed
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