Long leads Tigers past Bears, 41-0

Oct. 10, 2014 @ Rockwood

Credit Goose Lindsay

Rockwood’s Drake Long had a night to remember on Friday, as the Tiger senior running back rushed for 233 yards and 4 TDs on 16 carries in leading John Webb’s squad to a 41-0 victory over Tellico Plains on homecoming.

Friday’s performance was a breath of fresh air for Coach Webb after watching his team drop three of its past four games. “We played very well tonight,” Webb said. “We’ve been very inconsistent recently, but tonight we were able to run the football. Drake Long had a great night and we kind of gelled on offense.”

Rockwood’s ground game was the difference on a muddy Civitan Field. The Tigers ended the evening with 353 yards rushing on 41 carries. QB Will Warner completed 3-of-5 pass for 50 yards to give Rockwood 403 yards of total offense.

Tellico Plains was unable to generate much offense on the ground. The Bears had just 50 yards rushing on 25 attempts. The Bears tried to counter through the air, but the wet conditions made it tough on QB Dakota Rinehart and his receivers. Rinehart completed 11-of-27 passes for 125 yards.

One of Tellico Plains’ biggest plays of the night came early as Rinehart opened the contest with a 32-yard strike to Brett Nicely, but the Bears fumbled the ball away on the next play.

Rockwood’s first drive of the night was a long one as they held the ball 14 plays. The Tigers would not score, however, as Tellico Plains took over on downs at its 5-yard line. Rockwood would score on the next play as a bad snap resulted in a safety and a 2-0 lead for the Tigers.

Rockwood struck quickly after the free kick as Long raced 44 yards into the end zone for a 9-0 lead after Trey Treadway’s PAT. Rockwood tried to add to its lead on its next possession. The Tigers drove to the Bears 15 before coming up short on fourth-and-two.

Neither team did much offensively in the second quarter until Long broke free again. His second touchdown would be from 53 yards out to give the Tigers a 16-0 second quarter lead.

Rockwood’s defense set up the next score. The Bears failed to convert a fourth down on their own 40, and Long scored two plays later on a 29-yard run to make the score 22-0 late in the first half. The PAT was no good.

Rockwood’s special teams scored next. After Tellico Plains opened the second half with a three-and-out, Nathan Briley blocked a punt in the end zone that was recovered for a touchdown that made the score 28-0. The PAT was again no good.

The Bears answered with their best drive of the evening. Starting from their own 32, the Bears used a 39-yard pass from Rinehart to Austin Cheek to crack the red zone. Another completion to Ethan Freeman moved the ball inside the 10, but Rockwood’s defense stiffened and took over on downs.

Rockwood responded with its longest drive of the night, 90 yards. The drive lasted six plays with Long scoring from 45 yards out to make the score 34-0.

Rockwood’s final score came early in the fourth quarter when Warner finished off a 6-play, 65-yard drive with a 22-yard pass to Nathan Briley.

With the victory, Rockwood improves to 5-3 overall and 2-2 in District 3-A. The Tigers are off next week and will play at Midway on Oct. 24.

“We’re going to take this week off and try to rest up and heal up,” Webb said. “But we’ve got to stay sharp as well.”

Scoring

Team Statistics

Individual Statistics

Passing

Rushing

Receiving

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