September 8, 2001 12:29 AM
Rocks roll by Collins By Marc Nesseler, Dispatch/Argus
Sports editor
No matter the football numbers used for comparison, Rock Island was a landslide winner
over Chicago Collins Friday night at Almquist Field.
On players used -- and all were -- Rock Island outmanned the Cobras 52 to 24. On
rushing yards in the first half, when the clock wasn't stopped by the 40-point rule, the
Rocks ruled, 164-to-minus 3. Even though 10 different Rocks had carries, and none for more
than four times, they ended up with 5.8 yards per rush, to Collins' 1.1.
All of that best explains the final score, a Rock Island 43-6 blowout.
``I love these nights when we get to reward those that sometimes don't get the
opportunity to play under the lights,'' said Rock Island coach Vic Boblett. ``They all
work so hard in practice, they deserve to get an opportunity for quality minutes.''
In fact, those with the most carries were Mike Matherly, second with 29 yards; Ricky
O'Conner; Art Williams, who played four or five positions on both sides of the ball; and
sophomore quarterback Brad Spence. All of Spence's came in the second half, when he took
all of the RI snaps.
Rocky's top rusher Maurice Jones had just three touches, for 83 yards. Two went for
touchdowns, of 30 and 42 yards. Truth be told, he likely could have scored nearly every
time he touched the ball.
``Obviously, Collins was outmanned. They played hard, but they had so few. As the game
progressed, fatigue set in.''
The Rocks settle in with a 3-0 record going into their Western Big 6 opener next Friday
at Moline, but they may not have settled their quarterback situation. Alternating series
in the first half, juniors Chase Stephens and Tom DeBroeck looked sharp. Both threw
touchdowns passes to junior Brandin Smith. DeBroeck also had a nice 12-yard sideline pass
to Jones and Stephens perfectly dished a pitch, just as he was in the grasp of two
defenders, to Jones that led to the longest TD.
``We wanted to show a lot of stuff, ``We wanted to make sure everyone watching knew
there was a lot to prepare for,'' said Boblett, likely in reference to the upcoming big
Big 6 matchup.
Most notable was the kicking of sophomore Jason Reda. In his first game back from a
team-rules violation suspension, he booted four of six kickoffs into the end zone, and the
other two came down at the 4 and 1. The Rocks also wanted Reda to attempt a 31-yard field
goal at the end of the half, but the snap was off the mark.
Rocky's sophomores also put the 40-point rule into effect, winning 52-0. Dail Rice had
a 55-yard fumble return for a TD, and Nick Fleming and Robert Owens ran back interceptions
for scores.
Copyright 2001, Moline Dispatch
Publishing Co. |
