Rocklin Thunder defeated the varsity football team 35-7 in the fourth annual Quarry Bowl on Sept. 13.
With the bleachers and both end zones packed, what seemed like all of Rocklin came to cheer on their teams. Live action footage and replays from WCTV-19 displayed from a large projection screen next to the scoreboard.
A pass to #25 Justin Herrmann got things going as Whitney completed the first down. #21 Zuhair Mirza got the carry, carrying the ball to the 40 yard line and tackled by Rocklin’s #28 Joseph King. #21 was taken down by #7 Dustin Howenstein. Then #6 Drew Romo threw an interception to #5 Garrett Kauppilla. The first quarter ended with a score of 0-0.
Second quarter started with Rocklin scoring a touchdown and two point-conversion by #9 Skyler Gonzalez, making the score 8-0 Rocklin. Whitney got the ball, then Romo was then sacked and Rocklin had possession. Whitney then held their ground and got the ball back. Rocklin then got the ball and #88 Blake Laurin scored. #8 Max O’Rourke got the extra point, ending the second quarter 15-0 Rocklin ahead.
With the home team scoreless, Presley Valdivia said, “I think [the game is] a rough start, but I have faith that we will pull through.”
Defensive Back Isaiah Powell #35 talked about what it was like on the field at halftime.
“I feel we are definitely still in the game. We are doing pretty well defensively. We just need to tighten some of this up. I feel I’m doing pretty well. I want us to fight to get the ball and have less turnovers, and get on offense as much as possible,” Powell said.
At halftime both schools’ cheer squads performed, followed by what ended up being a combined dance performance with members of both dance teams linked in an arm-in-arm for a kick line across the middle of the field. To finish the half time show, fireworks launched above the home bleachers
“The halftime show was amazing. Everyone in the crowd was getting into it. It was so much fun,” Morgan Young said.
In the second half, Rocklin tried to score a touchdown but failed and settled for a kick, making the score 18-0. Whitney couldn’t score but the crowd kept cheering. Rocklin made another touchdown by #32 Andrew Castle and got a two-point conversion, making the score 23-0 with Rocklin leading. After a flag, Rocklin got to kick again, making it 25-0. Whitney tried again to score but couldn’t and Rocklin scored a touchdown again, ending the third quarter 32-0 Rocklin.
In the fourth quarter, the Thunder tried to get another touchdown but settled for a two-point conversion, making it 35-0. Whitney then got the ball and made their first touchdown by #7 Kris Corpus. After the extra point, Rocklin was up 35-7 with 6:50 on the clock. Neither team scored again, leaving the visitor to take back home the Quarry Bowl trophy.
“I felt like we could have done a lot better,” Ashley Raynes said. “It was upsetting that we lost again, but everyone tried their hardest, and that’s all that matters. We had a ton of spirit. Everyone was screaming out chants and having a lot of fun,” she said.
Head varsity coach Mike Gimenez said the team needs to work on paying attention and focusing.
Gimenez said, “We did not come out and execute. Rocklin came out and executed. It’s a lot of paying attention to detail. We lost focus.”
Check our tweets from the game.
by ARIELLA APPLEBY
