(Sentinel photo by Roy Tucker) RSM's Zane Phillips, Neal Loutsch and Josh Schiltz work together to take down R-U's Colin Sonnichsen during Friday night's battle between the cross-town rivals. [Click to enlarge]

Remsen-Union stayed atop District 1 with a big win over cross-town rival Remsen St. Mary's Friday evening. The Rockets defeated the Hawks 47-7 to maintain a perfect 5-0 mark in district play.

The Rockets jumped on the board on their first drive of the game, scoring on a two-yard run by Jonathan Schreiner. R-U missed the PAT attempt but held a 6-0 lead early in the game.

Later in the first quarter, Josh Bohnenkamp hooked up with Colin Sonnichsen on a 19-yard touchdown pass. With the extra point, the Rockets boosted their lead to 13-0.

R-U struck again in the second quarter on a six-yard run by Will Pierson. Michael Ruba's PAT kick was good, extending the Rockets' lead to 20-0. Later in the second quarter, Bohnenkamp connected with Kraig Alesch on a six-yard pass. After a missed PAT, the Rockets led 26-0.

In the second half, the Rockets kept rolling as Bohnenkamp found yet another receiver in the end-zone. This time, the sophomore quarterback connected with Tyler Van Dam on a nine-yard grab. Ruba's PAT was good and R-U kept their shutout going with a 33-0 lead.

St. Mary's made their mark on the board in the fourth quarter on a one-yard run by Zane Phillips. Billy Steichen nailed the extra point to put the Hawks on the board, down 33-7.

But the Rockets weren't finished scoring just yet. R-U's Alesch found the end-zone two more times in the final quarter. First, the sophomore running back ran 45 yards to the end-zone. Ruba added the extra point as R-U went up 40-7. Alesch struck once more in the quarter, this time on a 28-yard pass from Bohnenkamp for the touchdown. Another PAT sealed the Rockets' winning score at 47-7.

The winning Rockets were led by Bohnenkamp who racked up 126 yards through the air, connecting on 12-24 pass attempts and throwing for three touchdowns. Sonnichsen wrapped up three catches for 59 yards and a touchdown. Van Dam pulled in five receptions for 52 yards and a touchdown while Alesch added 39 yards on three receptions, including one touchdown.

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On the ground, Alesch was a force as he rolled up 91 yards on eight carries and added a touchdown. Pierson rushed 12 times for 72 yards and a touchdown while Bohnenkamp added 28 yards on 15 carries for the Rockets.

R-U's defensive efforts were led by Ruba who made 11.5 stops in the game and recorded three sacks. Alesch recorded nine stops in the win. Bohnenkamp added 8.5 tackles and Ryan Schroeder also had nine tackles. The senior defender also recorded a pair of sacks in the game. Sonnichsen wrapped up an interception and also recorded a fumble recovery for R-U.

For St. Mary's, starting quarterback Skyler Higgins was 8-13 for 79 yards and one interception. Backing him up was Neal Loutsch, who completed 9-19 for 115 yards.

On the receiving end, Tanner Kockler pulled in six receptions for 86 yards to lead the Hawks. Josh Schiltz caught five passes for 60 yards while Phillips racked up 29 yards on five catches. Loutsch had a catch for 19 yards as well.

On the ground, Phillips was the main attack with 15 carries for 54 yards and the Hawks' lone touchdown.

Defensively, Schiltz and Steichen each made eight solo stops in the loss. Stechein added three assisted tackles while Schiltz had two. Christopher Loutsch totaled 13 stops on the night, including six solo tackles, while Kockler wrapped up nine tackles in the loss.

Loutsch returned two punts for 16 yards on special teams while Chad Weiler had a kickoff return for 21 yards and Schiltz had two kick returns for 33 yards total.

RSM coach Ken Hajek keyed in on the Hawks' troubles against R-U Friday night. "We could not get a running game to compliment our passing game," he said. "They took away our running game."

However, Hajek was positive about the loss. "We're improving in every game," he said. "We were disappointed, but against a good team like R-U, you've got to have the fundamentals to offense and defense. We did not perform to the best of our abilities, so we need to regroup and focus on the fundamentals. Friday night showed us what we need to work on and we'll get ready for Charter Oak-Ute.

The Hawks face off in the district match-up with the Bobcats on Friday night in Remsen. The Bobcats are coming off a 52-14 loss to Granville Spalding this weekend and are 0-5 in district play and 0-7 on the season. The Hawks fall to 2-3 in the district and 3-4 overall after week seven.

R-U coach Colin Youde was pleased with the strong start his team exhibited in the rivalry game. "It's such a big rivalry," he said. "But things went our way. Our defense set the tone by getting some three-and-outs early. We were able to throw the football and it was just an overall good effort."

The Rockets improve to 5-0 in the district with a 6-1 record on the season and sit at the top of the district after seven weeks of action. "We feel pretty good about where we're at," Youde said. "We've played big games but there are big ones to come. I feel good about our execution. With two games left, I hope we can stay on this roll and do good things for the rest of the season."

The Rockets are on the road next Friday against Aurelia, who fell to Woodbine 56-28 this weekend. Aurelia is 3-2 in district play with a 4-3 record overall.