Rush take the lead

By Paul T. Zeien Jr.

www.boonecountysports.com

The Roscoe Rush takes the lead with a victory Saturday night against the Burlington Blue Devils at the Central Catholic Topper Bowl. A nice size crowd came out to cheer on both teams as they battled for first place. The Rush was missing some notable players for this game and was forced to make some position adjustments. Two injured players were side lined for the contest #19, Melvin Lipscomb, and #99, Julie Harshbarger being one of them. #20, Herculama DaCosta stepped in and handled the kicking responsibilities for the game and did an excellent job.

The Rush kicked off to begin the game and the Blue Devils returned the ball to their own 39 yard line only to be sent back 10 yards for a penalty. The Rush defense was pumped up and held the Blue Devils to 3 and out. The Rush suffered the same fate and ended up being backed up due to a penalty and starting out on their 25 yard line. The Rush’s 1st possession looked like they were going to march down the field but were stopped and held at the 50 yard line and were forced to punt.
The first score of the game came with :53 seconds remaining in the 1st quarter. #22, John Wiggins rams his way through the middle of the line and sprints 24 yards for the score. DaCosta steps in and nails the PAT the score is now Rush 7, Blue Devils 0.

The 2nd quarter starts out with 2 early sacks by the Rush defense. #91, Wendell Mcclain lead the way with the first sack. This put the Blue Devils on their own 16 yard line. The next play produced the same results with the sack coming from #94, Broch Meyers and this forced a Blue Devil punt from their own end zone.

The Rush after controlling the quarter are faced with 4th and 5 on the Blue Devil 47 yard line with 1:11 left in the half. They were unable to convert the 4th down and gave the Blue Devils decent field position. The Rush defense did not allow the Blue Devils to get a 1st down and the Rush get the ball back.

With :51 left in the half the Rush throw an interception giving the Blue Devils a good spot on the ball. The Blue Devils advance into field goal range and split the uprights. This made the score going into the half Rush 7, Blue Devils 3.

The second half started with #10, Justin Opengo, #23, Mike Goodwin, and #30 Trey Kelly back to receive the kick-off. Kelly ends up with the ball and finesses his way through the tacklers and finally is brought down on the Blue Devil 40 yard line. The Rush was unable to move the ball. The Blue Devils showed a hint of picking up the defense. This was not present in the first half of play. The Rush were forced to attempt a field goal and called on DaCosta for the job. He answered with his first football field goal. There was 8:49 left in the 3rd and the Rush was leading 10 to 3.

At 5:25 left #4, James Dock brings in an interception. This gave the Rush 1st and 10 on their own 47 yard line. The Rush offense was unable to execute and took a delay of game penalty which hurt them in field position. They ended up 3 and out.

The clock ticked down to 1:50 and the Rush nails another sack. This sack came from TJ Smice, #79. This would not be his only sack of the game. However, the 3rd quarter would end and the score would remain Rush 10, Blue Devils 3.

The Blue Devils told the Rush they were still not giving up and kicked a 33 yard field goal with 9:32 left in the game. This put the Blue Devils to within 4 points. The Rush sidelines were beginning to chant at the team to get pumped up there was still lots of game left.

The Rush would throw another interception at 2:41 and this would put the Blue Devils deep in their own territory, the 15 yard line. The Rush would give heavy pressure and sack the QB 2 more times. At 1:27 left in the game the Blue Devils call a timeout to regroup. When play resumed from the 5 yard line, TJ Smice broke through the line and smacked the QB so hard for a safety I looked for his helmet to fly right off. This would give the Rush a 6 point lead. The final score of the game as the Rush took a knee was Rush 12, Blue Devils 6.

This victory put the Rush a top of the American Conference standings with a perfect 4-0 record.