Rockets outlast Trimble in nail-biter game

By Carol McIntire

Editor

The Conotton Valley Rockets have lived by the passing game all season long, and Friday’s Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) regional quarterfinal game against Trimble was no different.

The Rockets relied on senior quarterback Zach Putnam’s arm and a defense that forced four fumbles in a nail-biting 26-22 win over the team from Athens. The Rockets move on to the third round where they will face the undefeated Eastern Eagles from Beaver at Heath High School. The Beavers are ranked #2 in Division VII Region 27 and the Rockets are 10-3 and ranked #3 in same region.

“This is surreal to be in this situation,” said an excited Coach Derek O’Hara. “We’d never won a playoff game until this year. Going into the season, our number one goal was to get back to the playoffs and win a playoff game. The seniors not only wanted to get to the playoffs, but wanted to host a game and we have been fortunate enough to be able to host two and win both. I’m so proud of the kids and their accomplishments.” 

Putnam, who has thrown for 3,066 yards this season found the team’s top receiver, Brooks Bower (942 receiving yards) twice in the second quarter for touchdowns.

Putnam’s first touchdown came early in the first quarter (9:28) when he connected with junior receiver Gavin Haney and gave the hosts an early 6-0 lead.

Five minutes later (4:03), Trimble took an 8-6 lead with a five-yard Owen Sikorski touchdown and the two-point conversion. 

Putnam put his team back on top on Conotton’s next possession (2:23) with a two-yard touchdown. The two-point conversion was good for a 14-8 Rocket lead. 

Again, Trimble responded with a five-yard touchdown and two-point conversion to open the scoring in the second period and pulled ahead 16-14. 

Putnam and Bower then connected for scores of 18 and four yards to give the Hornets a 26-16 lead at intermission.

“Taking a lead into halftime was big because we knew they were getting the ball to start the second half.  I felt like our defense bending but not breaking on a few drives, especially in the second half, was huge because we made them earn every yard,” O’Hara noted. 

The Rocket defense kept the Eagles out of the end zone until the fourth quarter, when it gave up a 19-yard touchdown, but not the two-point conversion to preserve the victory.

“The turnover battle was definitely the turning point,” O’Hara said referring to the four fumbles his team forced and recovered three of them. One of those fumble recoveries came deep in Rocket territory when the Eagles were threatening to score. 

Where the Rockets found success through the air, the Eagles found it on the ground. 

Putnam completed 18 of 33 passes for 225 yards while the Eagles picked up 336 yards on 54 carries on the ground. The Rockets rushing game netted 54 yards while the Eagles passing game produced 11 yards. Conotton Valley’s lone turnover was a fumble.  

Putnam accounted for 28 of his team’s rushing yards and Haney picked up 22 on four carries. 

 Kam Wright led the air attack with six receptions for 88 yards. Bower added 55 on six catches and Dylan Higgenbotham 45 yards on one pass. Haney caught three balls for 33 yards and Garrett Reiter 14 yards on two catches. 

Seniors Luke Smith and Wright led the deffensive effort. Smith was credited with 14 tackles seven assists, a sack and tackle for loss. Wright tallied 13 tackles and 10 assists, while Bower contributed nine tackles and three assists and Putnam eight tackles and four assists. Haney had a sack, fumble recovery and two tackles for loss. Haney and Rylan Bagby also had fumble recoveries. 

O’Hara is looking forward to this week’s matchup with the Eagles. 

“Beaver is a very balanced team,” he said. “They have some good athletes who can catch and run and their quarterback is having a great year and distributes the ball well. Defensively they fly around and play similar styles to us so it’s going to be a great matchup.”

Kickoff is at 7 p.m.