Williamsport — The Rockville Rox opened the high school football season Friday night with a close 45-38 victory over the Seeger Patriots, 45-38, but it was not the kind of the anyone expected.
The Class A No. 2-ranked Rox took advantage of four Seeger fumbles in the first half to build a 37-16 halftime lead, then hung on at the end when the Patriots came back to within a touchdown of tying the game.
“I thought the kids battled the entire ball game. We picked them apart in the first half. They made some changes [at halftime]. We weren’t as physical the second half as we need to be, but we found some kids to hang on,” Rockville coach Herb King said.
The Rox survived the heat and humidity in the second half as much as they did the Patriots. There were times Rockville didn’t have 11 players on the field because they were being treated for cramps or injuries on the sideline and no one reported to the coaches.
At one point in the fourth quarter, King was calling for two backs, and there were none left. “We had several injuries. We lost three of our backs,” King said.
It was a showcase night for Rockville quarterback Matt King and Seeger running back Ethan Cronk.
King completed his first eight passes of the night and scrambled around to complete 27-36 passes for 318 yards and five touchdowns against two interceptions while finding eight different receivers. King also ran for 44 yards and a touchdown.
Cronk was the Seeger offense for three and a half quarters, powering his way straight through the Rockville defense 27 times for 219 yards and three touchdowns.
Seeger coach Brian Moore praised Rockville, but pinned the loss on the Patriots’ turnovers.
“We can’t turn the ball over four times in the first half against a team like Rockville,” Moore said.
Rockville converted two of those turnovers into touchdowns.
Rockville’s James Kent recovered Seeger’s second fumble of the night at the Rockville 45 yard line. King found Steven Ball for a 33-yard pass play and shoveled a pass to Tyler Bradburn for a 4-yard score that put the Rox up 7-0.
Seeger’s Brad Moore responded with an 87-yard kickoff return and a two-point conversion put the host ahead 8-7.
With 12.5 seconds left in the first half and the Rox already leading 31-16, Kent recovered another Seeger fumble at the Seeger 23-yard line. That turned out to be the big one.
King hooked up with sophomore Troy Leach for what looked like a 23-yard touchdown pass, but the officials ruled he caught the ball at the 2-yard line. King went to the corner where 6-foot-5 Aaron Bridge outleaped a defender for a touchdown that gave the Rox a 37-16 halftime lead.
Rockville opened the second half with an 85-yard, 14-play touchdown drive to take a 45-16 lead with 5:35 left in the third period.
Rockville 45, Seeger 38
Rockville 15 22 8 0 — 45
Seeger 8 8 16 6 — 38
R — Tyler Bradburn 4 pass from Matt King (Billy Bettis kick).
S — Scott Moore 87 kickoff return (Brandon Ruemler run).
R — Drew Kelley 24 pass from King (Aaron Bridge pass from King).
S — Ethan Cronk 5 run (Moore run).
R — Steven Ball 8 pass from King (Bridge pass from King).
R — King 1 run (Troy Leach pass from King).
R — Bridge 2 pass from King (pass incomplete).
R — Bridge 30 pass from King (Bridge pass from King).
S — Cronk 58 run (Ruemler run).
S — Cronk 5 run (Moore run).
S — Moore 6 run (run failed).
R S
First downs 20 15
Rushes-yards 29-101 38-257
Passing yards 318 63
Comp-Att-Int 27-36-2 4-11-0
Total offense 65-419 49-320
Return yards 58 142
Fumbles-lost 1-0 5-4
Penalties-yards 10-68 4-61
Individual statistics
Rushing — Rockville: King 17-44, McMullen 11-45, Bradburn 1-12. Seeger: Cronk 27-219, Moore 5-27, Myers 3-7, Ruemler 3-4.
Passing — Rockville: King 27-36-2—318. Seeger: Moore 4-11-0--63.
Next — Next Friday, Rockville (1-0, 1-0 in WRC) will be host to Covington and Seeger (0-1, 0-1 in WRC) travels to North Montgomery.
High School
Rockville hangs on to top Seeger
- High School
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