The cool, calm evening of Friday, October 10, 2014, at Rockridge High School was perfect weather for flying. The Rockridge Fresh-Soph Rockets blasted off early, and the Morrison Ponies had to play catch up. They fell short in a 40-20 loss.
On the second play following the opening kickoff, sophomore Cole Whisman broke tackles up the middle and scampered 59 yards to begin the scoring, before the Pony defense got acclimated to the visitor’s field. Following a Pony failed fourth-and-one near midfield, the Rockets blasted off again with a 46 yard touchdown pass from Carson Frakes to Anthony Coppess Buikema. The Rockets led 14-0 with only 3:06 off the clock.
Morrison rebounded on the next possession when Dylan Keller found Jarrett Ruchotzke in the right flat. He ran the sideline before being caught at the 14-yard line to complete a 65-yard pass reception. Two runs by Zach Cartwright, a bobbled snap from center, and an incomplete pass stopped the Ponies at the Rockets’ 7-yard line, three yards short of a first down.
The Ponies entered the second quarter with the ball on the Rockets’ 18 yard line, due in part to a 19-yard run by Aaron Deter. At the 8:08 mark, quarterback Dylan Keller hit Cody Southern over the middle for a 4-yard touchdown, and the Ponies were only down 14-6. The Rockets blasted off again on their next possession, with a seven-play drive, to up the advantage to 20-6 with 4:46 left in the half. The Ponies were on the move again when Ruchotze opened the drive with a 13-yard scamper. The drive ended five plays later, with a Keller fumble on the 25 yard line that was recovered by the hosts. The Rockets only needed three plays to cover the 76 yards to pay dirt, with a 51-yard run by Nathan Parchment, ending the drive. The Rockets went in at half with a comfortable 26-6 advantage.
The third quarter belonged to the Ponies. They took the opening kickoff and marched 58 yards, to close the score to 26-12. The scoring drive was highlighted by eight pounding plays up the middle by Deter and Southern; it ended with an 11-yard pass completion from Keller to Matt Nichols. The fired-up Ponies stopped the Rockets with negative 1-yards on their next possession and received a punt on their own 36 yard line. Two drives by Deter and an 11-yard run by Ruchotzke set up a 49-yard run over left tackle by Aaron Deter, to reduce the deficit to 26-20 with 10.1 seconds left in the third period. The Pony defense had held the Rockets to a total of eight yards in two possessions in the quarter and were excited about closing the gap in the fourth.
To open the fourth, the Ponies smothered the Rocket offense, when Ben Vanderlaan sacked Frakes for a 4-yard loss, and Deter caught Whisman for a 3-yard loss. That forced a Rocket punt that took a Rockridge roll and left the Ponies on their own 12 yard line to start their drive. A penalty moved the ball back to the six, and the Ponies were forced to punt two plays later, which gave the Rockets good field position at the Morrison 32 yard line. Whisman gained 8 yards before skirting right end for a 24-yard score with 6:34 left in the game. The Rocket gap opened to 34-20.
The next Pony drive was hampered by a penalty and two incomplete passes. The Rockets regained possession with 4:47 remaining at their own 38 yard line. Whisman immediately gained 23 yards, and Frakes scrambled for a 15-yard gain. This was followed by a 10-yarder, before Parchert followed blockers into the end zone for a 14-yard touchdown and killed the Pony hopes for a comeback. That formed the final score of 40-20 in favor of the host Rockridge Rockets.