Smith rushes for 218
yards to lead Rocky
By Marc Nesseler, Sports editor
On the heels of their first Western Big 6 football loss in three years, the Rock Island
Rocks reloaded Friday night. More importantly, they refocused.
``What we got was a reality check. We had to come back down to earth,'' said RI senior
Nick Loquist, who moved from center to tackle as part of a revamped Rocky offensive line.
That line paved the way for nearly 11 yards per carry in RI's 34-20 win over Galesburg at
Almquist Field.
A week after the Rocks managed just one touchdown in a 9-7 loss to United Township,
Rock Island's Dillon Smith put up three TDs by himself, including a 94-yard clincher with
six minutes left in the game. All three scores came the same way -- off a left-tackle
block, by Greg Perrin in his first start on the first drive and by Eddie Williams, who
moved from guard to tackle, on the latter two.
``That hole was open all night,'' said Smith, who posted 218 yards on just nine
carries. ``You could have drove a truck through there.
``After that loss, we needed to be recharged mentally. You can't take things for
granted.''
Vic Boblett, who won his 100th game as a coach at Rock Island, detected the obvious
attitude change.
``The pregame was a whole different world,'' Boblett said. ``And no question, the week
of preparation was much, much better.''
For the first time this season for the 6-1 Rocks, Boblett stuck with just one
quarterback and basically one backfield set. Quarterback Tom DeBroeck completed 3-of-3
passes, including a 19-yard TD pass to Brandin Smith that gave the Rocks a 27-14 lead. It
was his Smith's fifth TD reception of the season, but first since the second week.
Though the Rocks couldn't shut down Galesburg's running game -- Derrek Blackwell had
218 yards on 23 carries -- they did clamp down on Streaks QB Jonathan Duffy. The Big 6's
top passer, he was just 6-of-15 with one interception.
``Our defensive backs played very well,'' Boblett said. ``Luke Depron made some
unbelievable plays back there.''
Galesburg coach Zach Shay thought the difference was field position.
``No matter what we tried, they started at midfield,'' said Shay, whose Streaks fall to
3-4, 2-2 in the WB6, ``and they kicked off into the end zone each time. They have to go 50
yards and we have to go 80. That's three first downs.
``Our offense was fine, but we could have played better defense.''
Asked if he detected any difference in the Rock Island alignment, Shay said, ``Rock
Island is like the Michigan of the Big 6. They take a lot of pride in what they do. They
beat you with what they do best.''
With the changes, though, Loquist thinks the Rocks are better.
``We're always going to get the other team's best shot,'' the lineman said. ``It's hard
to match that intensity week after week. We didn't do that last week. This week was
different.''
The Rocks, 3-1 in the Big 6, now can clinch a share of the conference title and its
automatic playoff bid next Friday with a win against Alleman at Browning Field.
RI sophs go for win, lose: Scoring with :04 left to pull to within 20-19, the RI
sophomores went for the win with a two-point converstion try. The run failed, and the
Streak sophs celebrated.
A 22-yard pass from Jacob Markum to Torian Farrar on a 3rd-and-15 put RI on the 5-yard
line. Three plays later, Radell Taylor scored his second TD of the game, setting the stage
for the all-or-nothing conversion.
Copyright 2001, Moline Dispatch
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