No. 9 Rockets roll over Raiders in first win

The Rockets raced through a huge first half to take a 33-0 lead at the half. R-U's defense allowed only one touchdown in the second half, giving the Rockets a 53-6 victory.

Kraig Alesch got things going for the Rockets, scoring the first two R-U touchdowns.

In the first quarter, the sophomore running back scored on a three-yard run. Michael Ruba's extra point was good, giving R-U a 7-0 lead.

In the second quarter, it was Alesch again. This time, the sophomore ran 29 yards into the end-zone for the touchdown. A failed extra point left the Rockets with a 13-0 lead.

R-U's defense came up with the next points. Senior linebacker Ryan Schroeder recovered a Raider fumble in the end-zone for another six points. Ruba's extra point kick sailed through the uprights, increasing the Rockets' lead to 20-0.

Will Pierson found the end-zone next, on an eight-yard touchdown run. The PAT kick was no good and the Rockets held a commanding 26-0 lead.

The final points of the half came on an exciting punt return. Alesch took the return 30 yards before he fumbled the ball. Travis Fulton quickly recovered the fumble and ran 20 yards to the end-zone for the touchdown. The PAT kick was good and the Rockets held a 33-0 lead at the half.

The third quarter started with a 19-yard touchdown run by Jon Schreiner.

After that, the Raiders got on the board with their only score of the night, a 16-yard touchdown pass. A failed PAT left Ruthven-Ayrshire trailing 39-6.

Josh Bohnenkamp was on fire in the fourth quarter, sealing the win for the Rockets.

The sophomore quarterback struck first on a 25-yard pass to Colin Sonnichsen for the touchdown. Next, Bohnenkamp hit Tyler Van Dam on a 24-yard pass for another touchdown. Ruba drilled both extra points to secure R-U's 53-6 victory.

With a total of 401 yards on offense, the Rockets were led through the air by Bohnenkamp, who completed three of eight passes for 88 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. The starting quarterback, Schreiner, was 3-for-6 for 58 yards and one interception.

On the receiving end, Sonnichsen had a pair of catches for 64 yards and one touchdown. Van Dam also had two catches for 54 yards and one touchdown.

On the ground, Pierson paved the way, gaining 111 yards on 12 carries and scoring one touchdown. Alesch rushed for 72 yards and two touchdowns on eight carries. Schreiner added 12 carries for 59 yards and one touchdown.

The Rockets' defensive efforts complimented their offense. Schroeder totaled 10.5 tackles with one sack and a fumble recovery for a touchdown. Ruba recorded 6.5 tackles and one sack while junior defensive back Brad Hodgen pulled down four interceptions.

R-U coach Colin Youde was pleased with the outcome of the first game. "You can watch your kids practice and think you're pretty good and doing nice things," he said. "But it's nice to see them play against someone else and do well too."

"I was pretty excited about the way we played," Youde continued. "[I was excited about] the way our offense played for sure. Our defense is pretty opportunistic - they went out and did a few things and caused eight turnovers on the night."

But Youde is aware that there are always areas that can use improvement. "It was good to polish our defense, but there are still things we can get better on," he said. "For our first game out, it was a great effort by our guys and I'm looking forward to next week."

The Rockets will be on the road this Friday, taking on Graettinger-Terril, who got a win in week one by defeating Aurelia 40-38.