40-8: Rockets Roll Into State Championship Game

RAPID RIVER---It was two years ago that the Rapid River High School football team advanced to the state championship game only to be overwhelmed by a speedy team from Carsonville-Port Sanillac. And then last year, the Rockets lost in the state semifinals to the Bellaire Eagles on a dreary, rainy afternoon in Rapid River.

Those two losses have stayed with the Rockets players and coaches, and in the off-season, they vowed to do everything they could to get back to the state finals.

The players were in the weight room during the summer. The coaches were drawing up new schemes.

That hard work has led to an undefeated season for Rockets which was capped off Saturday by a 40-8 victory over Kinde North Huron in the state semifinals in Rapid River.

And with that win, the Rockets get ready to play for a state championship.

"I'm excited," Rockets senior Jake Pearson said. "I can't wait to get another shot at it. We came up a little short last time, but we'll redeem ourselves this time."

Rapid River senior Pat Pryal interview

"I'm really happy for all of these guys," Rockets senior Pat Pryal said. "I didn't play in the first one (in 2011), so I'd like to get another shot at it."

"Obviously, we'd rather be up in the (Superior) Dome," Rockets senior Mike Boyer said. "But you get what you get. We had workouts all summer, we had some hard practices, and we kept it going through the school year. It's great to see it all come together."

"Last time we were in the states, I was a freshman," Rockets junior Luke Bero said. "I was on kickoff. I didn't get to play that much. So, I'm glad we've got another shot at it. It's a real blessing to get this far, and get down to the state finals.

"Hopefully, we can bring it home."

Rapid River Coach Steve Ostrenga says he appeciates all of the guys' hard work.

"We tell the kids, 'if you work hard, good things might happen," Ostrenga said. "If you don't work hard, they're probably not going to happen."

To get the chance to move on to the state finals, though, the Rockets had to get by a talented North Huron Warriors team that drove almost eight hours from Michigan's "Thumb" area to get to Rapid River. And early on, it looked like this game would be a tough one for the Rockets.

Rapid River drove 72 yards in 12 plays on its first posession to score a touchdown on a 22-yard pass from Pearson to Pryal on 4th-and-11.

TD pass Jake Pearson to Pat Pryal.

But the next time the Rockets had the ball, they fumbled, and the Warriors moved deep into Rapid River territory as quarterback Kyle Case got loose for a 58-yard run.

It would have been a touchdown, but Pryal sprinted from one side of the field to the other to catch up to Case at the 23 yard-line. Four plays later, the Warriors turned the ball over on downs on an incomplete pass in the end zone (knocked away by Pryal).

"I was just hoping that I could get him before he got in the end zone," Pryal said. "Number Eight (Case) was really quick, and I'm glad that I got over there and stopped him."

"We were very close in that first quarter," Pryal continued, "but once we started to find some consistency on offense and defense, we were pretty good from that point on."

"That was a great play," Rockets senior Hayden Hardwick said about Pryal's touchdown-saving play. "That was great hustle. He's been doing that all year for us. Any breakaways? You can always count on Pat to be there."

"We always seem to start the game a little slow," Pearson added. "But the good thing is, we seem to get better as the game goes on."

Ostrenga says that his team's defensive effort was excellent.

Jake Pearson 38-yard touchdown run.

"I thought that this was the finest game that we've played, as far as tackling," Ostrenga said. "Whatever they did, as far as the techniques that we taught and the focus that they had, they brought it every day at practice this week. And then they came out fired-up (today) on the defensive end."

After Pryal's defensive heroics, the Rockets drove 76 yards in seven plays, with Pearson scoring on a 38-yard touchdown run to make it a 12-0 ballgame.

Jake Pearson 80-yard touchdown run.

It was still 12-0 late in the second quarter when things went bad for the Warriors. After a North Huron punt, the Rockets scored on an elctrifying 80-yard touchdown run by Pearson. He stiff-armed one tackler, spinned off another, and avoided a desperation ankle tackle before running to the end zone.

The two-point run made it 20-0. That was with 2:26 left in the second quarter.

The Warriors then went four-and-out, giving the Rockets the ball near midfield. Pearson broke off runs of 21 and 15 yards, and scored on a one-yard plunge to make it 26-0 with 39 seconds left in the half. Pearson ran in the two-point conversion and it was 28-0.

Then disaster struck for the Warriors.

They fumbled the kickoff that bounced through mud up the middle of the field, and that gave the Rockets the ball near midfield again.

On the last play of the half, Pearson scrambled and found David Hough open at the five yard-line. Hough caught the ball, then cut diagonally into the end zone.

That made it a 34-0 Rockets lead.

Rapid River started the second half with a drive into the red zone, but it ended when Case stepped in front of a Pearson pass and intercepted it in the end zone.

And the Warriors got some momentum when their star running back Brandon Moore
got loose for a 30-yard run. But North Huron's drive stalled because of a holding penalty, and then Rockets junior Steve Johnson sacked Case on 4th and 11.

TD pass Jake Pearson to Dave Hough.

Rapid River had some penalty trouble of its own, and faced a 4th-and-14 from the North Huron 35 yard-line. Pearson did another of his elude-three-guys runs, and ended up being tackled at the one yard-line. Pryal scored on the next play, and it was 40-0.

That invoked the state's mercy rule, and most of the second half was played under a running clock. The clock did stop late in the fourth quarter when one of the referees suffered a severe hamstring injury. The official from St. Ignace was brought to the sideline, and after the game was over, he was taken away by ambulance.

North Huron broke the shutout with 1:43 left in the game on a 27-yard touchdown run by Moore.

He ended up with 139 yards on 17 carries in the game. The Warriors, who had an 0-9 season just two years ago, finished this campaign with an 8-4 record.

Pearson led the way with 362 yards rushing on 37 carries, and three touchdowns. He also completed two of five passes for 47 yards, both of the passes were for touchdowns.

Pryal had 42 yards rushing on ten carries. He had a touchdown on the ground, and another through the air. Rapid River had 459 yards of total offense.

"Our linemen always do a good job, and our receivers, too, with their 'stop-blocking'," Pearson said. "We have lots of role players on this team who do their job every day."

"They (North Huron) came out fast," Hardwick said. "But I think we wore them down. Our backs made good cuts, and Jake gave himself a little extra time in the huddle."

There was a touching moment after the game when all of the Rockets players and coaches left the field to pose in a photo with classmate Hayley Brockway. She was at the game just 48 hours after being released from a Green Bay hospital, where she had spent nearly five weeks fighting a disease that had caused her brain and spinal cord to swell.

"It was very nice to see Hayley," Pearson said. "I'm glad that she's doing well."

"Having Hayley back, it makes you think about how there's so many things more important than football," Ostrenga said. "It was a huge moment."

Rapid River continued the best season in school history with a 12-0 record. And that leads the Rockets into next week's state championship game against the Peck Pirates in downstate Greenville. Peck is also 12-0.

Rockets Coach Steve Ostrenga Post-Game Interview

"It's a huge honor," Ostrenga said. "You don't get many opportunities like this. When the opportunity is there, you've got to take advantage of it."

CLICK HERE to read about Peck's Saturday win, with courtesy to www.mlive.com.

Next Friday's championship game will start at 7:00 from Greenville's Legacy Field. It will be broadcast live on WGKL-FM (105.5), WCHT-AM (600), and it will be streamed live over the Internet at www.rrnsports.com.

Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box to see photos taken by Michelle Rubick, videos taken by Mike Casey, and to listen to player and coach interviews. You can also hear replays of four Rockets touchdowns.

Date	Time	Opponent	Score	Record

8/29	7:00 PM	at Ewen-Trout Creek Panthers	44 - 12 (W)	1-0

9/5	7:00 PM	Posen Vikings	62 - 26 (W)	2-0

9/13	7:00 PM	Engadine Eagles	56 - 28 (W)	3-0

9/20	7:00 PM	at Brimley Bays	48 - 6 (W)	4-0

9/27	7:00 PM	at Engadine Eagles	46 - 22 (W)	5-0

10/4	7:00 PM	at Cedarville Trojans	48 - 25 (W)	6-0

10/11	7:00 PM	Superior Central Cougars	42 - 0 (W)	7-0

10/18	7:00 PM	Mid Peninsula Wolverines	2 - 0 (W)	8-0

10/25	7:00 PM	at Bellaire Eagles	74 - 42 (W)	9-0

11/1	7:00 PM	Posen Vikings	60 - 25 (W)	10-0

11/8	7:00 PM	Engadine Eagles	50 - 21 (W)	11-0

11/16	1:00 PM	Kinde North Huron Warriors	40 - 8 (W)	12-0

11/22	7:00 PM	at Peck Pirates	32 - 67 (L)	12-1