SSC Rocks Route St. Patrick 42-7

The Saint Stanislaus Rock-A-Chaws used a relentless attack on both sides of the football as they routed St. Patrick 42-7 in a Division 8-3A contest on the road.

The Rocks (6-1, 2-0) kept the pressure on the Irish throughout the first half as they built a commanding 35-0 lead by intermission.

The Rocks forced a punt by St. Patrick to open the game and went to work immediately with a six-play scoring drive that culminated with a 43-yard scoring toss from Ian Gonzalez Rioz to Ben Brewer with 7:19 left in the opening quarter. Evan Noel converted the PAT for a 7-0 lead.

The Rocks again forced a punt that was blocked by Finn Williford and SSC recovered the ball at the Irish 25-yard line.

Three plays later Rioz called his own number and scored from one yard out with 5:01 left in the quarter. Noel’s PAT made the score 14-0.

St. Patrick put together their best drive of the first half going eight plays and driving down to the Rocks’ 47-yard line before Spencer Cornell forced a fumble that Jacob Bradford returned 47 yards to the Irish 11-yard line. Rioz needed just one play to score from 11 yards out with 27 second left in the first quarter. Noel’s PAT gave the Rocks a 21-0 lead.

The Rocks and the Irish traded turnovers before the Rocks forced St. Patrick to punt the ball away. SSC took over at their own 22-yard line. Rioz hit Jaxon West for a gain of 13 yards and Isaiah Haynes added carries of nine and six yards to bring the ball to midfield. Rioz found Ethan Galloway for a 50-yard scoring aerial with 3:34 left to play in the half. Noel’s PAT made the score 28-0.

The Rock defense stopped the Irish to get the ball back with 1:03 left in the half. Haynes started the drive off with a seven-yard gain. Rioz picked up 17 yards before connecting with Galloway for 15 yards. Another nine-yard pick-up by Rioz brought the ball close to the end-zone before Rioz found Galloway for a five-yard scoring toss with one second left on the clock. Noel’s PAT made the score at intermission 35-0.

The Rocks opened the second half with a 11-play drive that featured back-up quarterback Sam Grant in action. On the drive, Grant completed 4-of-5 passes for 44 yards. Haynes did the work on the ground rushing six times for 58 yards including the four-yard touchdown run to end the drive with 4:31 left in the third quarter. Noel’s PAT made the score 42-0.

St. Patrick took over at their own 20-yard line and went 80 yards in 16 plays as Ayden Le scored two yards with 4:23 left in the game to avoid the shutout. The PAT made the final score 42-7.

SSC head coach Tim Lala commented, “St. Patrick runs a tough offense to prepare for in one week with the triple option. They did some good things tonight. However, we did a good adjusting to what they were doing. I am very pleased with our ability to adjust tonight. Isaiah Haynes finished with his second 100+ game. I am pleased with where we are right now, but there is more to accomplish. We have an athletic Perry Central team coming to us next week. Their quarterback is as good a player as we will see this year. We have to prepare for a talented football team and commit to staying humble and get after it this week.”

In the game, the Rocks were led by Ian Gonzalez Rioz who rushed five times for 37 yards and two touchdowns and threw for 160 yards and three scores on 9-for-11 passing. Haynes carried the ball 14 times for 101 yards and a touchdown. Galloway led the receivers with five catches for 82 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

On defense, the Rocks were led by Cornell with 11 total tackles and a forced fumble followed by Bradford with nine total tackles, three tackles for loss, and two fumble recoveries.

The Rocks will host Perry Central ‘between the walls’ tonight for Senior Night. Kickoff is set for 7 pm.