Rockets nearly pull off playoff upset

By Carol McIntire

Editor

The Conotton Valley Rockets nearly pulled off the upset Friday when they faced the undefeated Eastern High School Eagles in a Division VII regional semifinal contest at Heath High School. 

The Rockets dug a hole early and trailed 21-0 at halftime. Coach Derek O’Hara’s squad pulled themselves out of the hole, outscored the Eagles 22-0 over the next two quarters and took a 22-21 lead in the fourth quarter. The Eagles clinched the 29-22 win and a trip to the regional final, with a two-yard run later in the fourth period after the Rocket defense denied the Eagles a touchdown with a goal line stand. 

“I think getting down a few scores at halftime was a bit of a shock to our kids initially,” O’Hara said. “We were prepared for what they were going to do, but the ball just bounced their way in the first half and we didn’t capitalize on some chances we had to score.  

The Eagles came out strong in the first half, putting three touchdowns on the board while holding the Rockets scoreless. 

The winners scored on a nine-yard pass in the first quarter and, one-yard run and 12-yard pass in the second. The extra point kick was good on all three scores. 

O’Hara said the message to his team at halfime was simple.

“We told the kids to relax,” O’Hara said. “There was no yelling or screaming, there was no ra ra speech, it was simply to execute more efficiently and play with toughness. 

“I told them all it’s going to take in one.  Take it one possession at a time and when we get that first score, the weight on your shoulders will be lifted.  Don’t play football tense, play it like you always have, for fun.”

The Rockets heard the message and responded.

Senior quarterback Zach Putnam and his receiving corps went to work. 

Putnam found sophomore Garrett Reiter  for a 10-yard touchdown and, just as the coach said, the weight was lifted from the team’s shoulders. The two point conversion was good to cut the deficit to 21-8.

Conotton struck again when Putnam connected with junior Gavin Haney for a 14-yard score and, with the two point conversion, pulled to within 21-16 heading into the final 12 minutes. 

The Rockets took the lead for the first time in the fourth quarter on a third-and-three play inside the Eatern 15-yard line.

“We had been talking on the headsets the whole game about the pressure they had been showing on third and long so we called one of our screens,” O’Hara explained. “ As he has done all season, Brooks Bower made a few kids miss and plowed his way into the endzone.”

The battle-tested Rocket defense kept the Eagles out of the endzone with a goal-line stand,  only for the ball to be fumbled into a pile. An Eagle picked it up and crossed the goal line for the score. 

Again the Rockets picked themselves up by the boot straps and began to march down the field with a long reception. An Eagle defender punched the ball out and it bounced Eastern’s way for the fumble recovery. 

“That touchdown was gut-wrenching, but out kids still didn’t give up,” said O‘Hara. Eastern is a very talented team, but after we dug ourselves a hole in the first half,  our kids didn’t quit and gave it their best effort for four quarters. To be able to battle back and take the lead 22-21 was incredible and it shows the grit this team had.”   

Putnam led the team as he has all season long, through the air and with his legs. In his last game as a Rocket, the senior completed 20 of 39 passes for 274 yards and carried the ball 15 times for 91 yards, the longest run being 29 yards. He ends his finhal season at Conotton Valley with 421 pass completons on 264 attempts for 3,3,40 yards. Putnam was also the leading tackler for the Rockets with 10 tackles, three assists and three tackles for loss.  

The Rockets held a 274-164 yard advantage in passing yards and the Eagles outgained Conotton Valley 218-166 on the ground. 

Senior Brooks Bower led the Rocket receiving corps with nine catchs for 152 yards and, for the season, caught 82 passes for 1,094 yards, Junior Kam Wright caught four passes for 53 yards and Reiter and Haney both three, Reiter for 34 yards and Haney 33.

Haney also had 69 yards rushing on five carries. 

The Rockets had one turnover, the punchout after the pass completion, while the Eagles turned the ball over twice – on a fumble and interception. 

Haney had nine tackles, two assists, one sack and one tackle for loss. Bower recorded seven tackles and one assist.

 “This journey has been one that I will never forget,” O’Hara said. “Our seniors have set the standard for our program.  They have bought into the big picture that it’s not just about Friday Night Lights, it’s about the dark hours.  The times when no one is watching.  The pain and toughness it takes in the weight room to mentally prepare yourself to fight through adversity and accomplish your goals.  To be able to help this team win their first playoff game in school history was amazing.  To see and hear the support from the community was something I will never forget as a coach.  I’ve never seen grown men cry when describing how proud they were of the accomplishments of this team and how they represented Rocket Nation like I did Friday.”

Eastern will face Danville Friday at 7 p.m. in a regional final contest.

The Rockets end the season 10-4.