September 16, 2001 11:14 PM
Rocky rolls past Moline, 42-7
By Steve Tappa, Dispatch/Argus Staff sports writer Rock Island's Dillon Smith
was almost as surprised as the Moline Maroons.
``I knew we were going to use it; I just didn't think it was going to be so soon,''
Rock Island's junior halfback said after pulling off a second-quarter fake punt from
Rocky's 43 yard-line with his football team clinging to a 7-0 lead.
``It's a pretty risky play. A lot could have gone wrong with it.''
Instead, everything went right.
Smith gained 30 yards and a first down on the gamble, backfield mate Maurice Jones ran
for a 27-yard touchdown on the next snap and Rock Island rolled from there -- winning 42-7
Saturday at Moline's Browning Field.
A crowd of around 6,000 watched the Western Big 6 Conference opener for both teams,
which was delayed a day because of power problems with the lights Friday night.
Rocky has won five straight -- and eight of the last nine -- in the state's longest
running rivalry. The victory sets up a showdown with a fellow 4-0 team next Friday when
United Township visits Rock Island's Public Schools Stadium.
The margin of victory was the largest in at least 20 years of the the 103-year rivalry.
That 20 years is the extent of records readily available at the newspaper. In that time,
the biggest blowout was by three touchdowns -- done four times. The previous five games in
the series were decided by a combined 27 points.
The loss was the third straight to a ranked team for Moline (1-3), which hosts league
doormat Quincy next Friday. Rock Island is ranked 7th in the state's Class 6A ratings.
``I was on the sideline and didn't even know we were doing it,'' Jones said of the fake
punt. Jones finished with three touchdowns and 123 rushing yards on 11 carries. ``Then,
all of a sudden, I saw Dillon come running around the end with the ball, and I was like,
`Yeah!' That got us the momentum right there.''
Instead of making the long snap to Rocky punter Jason Reda, Rocks long-snapper Clayton
George put the ball where a center would normally hike it for a quarterback-center
exchange.
Positioned in the backfield between the right guard and center, Smith snatched the ball
from George's backside, tucked it under his left arm and nervously waited. With Reda and
the rest of the Rocks' backfield running to the right, Smith slipped around left end,
untouched.
``That killed us,'' Moline coach Joel Ryser said. ``That was a great play on their
part. I was (talking) with the offense, figuring we were going to get the ball back, and
all of a sudden, I look up, and they've still got it.''
Rocky coach Vic Boblett came upon the fake punt this past summer while watching his son
Doug practice for, and then play in, the Illinois Shrine Bowl. In fact, the younger
Boblett's West team used the play to win the annual all-star affair.
``We'd been working on that since Day One of practice,'' coach Boblett said. ``We work
on it every day. We were just waiting for a critical situation to pull it out, and it
looks like we found the right time to use it.''
The fake punt allowed Rocky to score on its first three possesssions, and marked the
first of three times the Rocks cashed in after Moline turnovers.
After stalling on their first drive into Rocky territory, the Maroons marched to the
Rocks' 35-yard line before a pair of failed center-quarterback exchanges.
Moline quarterback Brent Anderson recovered the first fumble. Rocky end Chris Tuttle
fell on the second bobble to thwart the 12-play drive. Jones scored five plays later to
put the Rocks up 14-0.
Rocky also scored in the second half following an interception (by linebacker Jason
Amble) and a fumble forced by Tuttle on a sack inside the Moline 20 (recovered by lineman
Nick Anderson).
Right after Amble's pick, Smith galloped 62 yards to paydirt and a 28-0 lead. Jones
dove in from a yard out two plays after the sack and fumble, making it 35-7.
``We gave it up,'' Ryser said of the turnovers, ``and you can't win doing that.''
Rocky benefitted from other big plays, too.
Moline went three-plays-and-out on its third possession, and on the third play after
the punt, Jones broke a couple of tackles en route to a 55-yard scoring scamper with 9.6
seconds remaining before halftime.
``We weren't trying to run out the clock,'' Jones said of the score that gave Rocky a
21-0 edge at halftime. ``We were trying to bust their backs.
``When we get under 30 seconds, we always go for it. I think that (play) made a
difference in this game, too.''
Besides the long TD runs by Jones and Smith (game-best 142 yards on 9 carries), the
Rocks also got a 46-yarder by sophomore reserve Waylond Ryan to cap the scoring.
Rocky's first score came via its only pass -- a 16-yard TD strike from Chase Stephens
to Brandin Smith, which capped a 14-play, 86-yard drive that ate up most of the first
quarter.
Moline's lone highlight came on a 49-yard TD pass from Brent Anderson to David Ryan.
The Maroon quarterback finished 11-for-21 for 162 yards.
Tuttle was the defensive star for Rocky, with two sacks, two other tackles-for-losses,
a fumble recovery and a forced fumble. The Rocks allowed 84 yards on the ground, and
outgained Moline, 381-246.
Copyright 2001, Moline Dispatch
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