On the offensive side of the ball the Rockets did exactly what they hadn't been able to do in their losses, run the ball effectively, to the tune of 211 yards on 36 carries for a strong 5.9 YPC average. If that wasn't enough, they added 205 yards through the air at close to 9 YPA. All signs of putting themselves in a great position to take home a critical road victory and keep their post season hopes alive for another week. On the other sideline, the Falcons were able to put almost 150 yards rushing on the board at a respectable 4.6 YPC, better than their four losses, a sign that they would be in the game near the end.
But the key with any game is typically the turnover battle and the Rockets as with previous games this year faltered in that category. In part, this was helped by an opportunistic Falcon defense that made critical plays down the stretch to turn the momentum of the game and set-up great field position for the Falcon offense.
We talk a lot about the DNA of a team and even in the loss a lot can still be said of the Rockets. This is a team in transition under its new leadership, but there is no doubt looking over its past few games, beginning with the Hillside contest that pieces are beginning to come into place. Turnovers have been a problem for this team and they were in many regards the deciding factor in the game on Friday, coming up with ways to eliminate that shortcoming of the Rockets will go a long way in putting a few more wins on a season's ledger, even with marginal overall improvement. Finally, coming into the game the Rockets knew they had to compete and win to maintain a reasonable chance of playing in the post season; they responded playing lights out in the first half aside from a few turnovers and held a 10-7 and shortly thereafter 17-7 lead in the early third quarter.
For the Falcons, their marquee win of the season was against a suspect East Chapel Hill squad, not exactly something to write home about. Picking up a win against a conference opponent that had played well against two of the top teams in the conference in Northern Durham and Hillside would show that the Falcons may not be one of the best teams in the PAC-6, but were certainly not one of the bottom feeders either. This was a game that appeared could go either way, a 50-50 game in many ways and good teams find ways to win the majority of your 50-50 games, while average teams go - 50-50. The win brings the Falcons to one game away from .500 in conference play, with Riverside remaining on the schedule and most likely puts them in the playoffs as an at-large bid due to their reportable six wins. The following quotes are from the voices of the PAC-6 and were included in articles from the Herald-Sun and Roxboro-Courier Times. For more information on the game, follow the links provided at the end of the post.
The Falcon defense has been one of the top groups in the PAC-6 this year and they didn't disappoint late in the game coming up with multiple takeaways that led to quick Falcon scores. Head football coach, Mike Briggs commented on the overall play of his team in the fourth quarter and the play of his defense.
"That was one of the best quarters we've played all year," Jordan coach Mike Briggs said. "The defense got us the ball and we were able to put some points on the board and get a win for our seniors."The Rockets dominated in the first half, although they led by just three entering the third quarter. Person tallied roughly 175 yards rushing in the first half alone and would have potentially been up by more if not for some costly turnovers. Coach Briggs spoke about the mental state of his team after Person's early score in the third quarter that extended the lead to 10 and how they responded.
"We got a little bit down on ourselves when it was 17-7," Briggs said. "We got away from our game plan early, but our defense made some plays that gave the offense some momentum."One of the Falcons that made some plays late to help in the comeback was running back John Brown that punched in the go-ahead and eventual winning score in the fourth quarter. As an underclassman, he commented on what he knew that he and others needed to do and the importance of the game from the perspective of it being the final home game for the Falcon seniors.
"Being down at halftime, we knew we had to pick it up for the seniors," John Brown said. "The defense played hard in the second half and we were able to pull out a win for the seniors."In almost every statistical category the Rockets won the game, except for the most crucial category, the one that torpedoed their efforts - turnovers. Person head coach Lou Geary spoke about his teams travails in the turnover category and how it really turned the complexion of the game.
"Turnovers bit us again, It's the same thing that's plagued us all year," said Person head coach Lou Geary. "I thought we had the problem cured but it came back to haunt us again. We had the momentum. We had everything in our favor until the fourth quarter."With no wins in conference and only two on the season with three remaining, it was clear that for the Rockets to have a shot at post season play they would need to go into Claude Currie Stadium and pick up a victory to help reach the four win eligibility plateau and begin to accumulate conference wins that would put them in over another four win team. With the loss, the Rockets need to win their final two to be playoff eligible, not out of the question as they have Riverside and East Chapel Hill left, but with only two wins in conference to go with that four overall wins the likelihood of making the 2010 playoffs appears slight at best. Coach Geary commented on this aspect as well as how he felt his Rockets stacked-up against the Falcons. He went on to praise the effort his team put forward on Friday night.
"It's really sad for our senior players who wanted to make the playoffs. It's a shame," said Coach Geary. "Hats off to Jordan but I think, man-for-man, 11-on-11, we were the better ball club tonight. It just didn't come out that way on the scoreboard. Our team really played their butts off. They really wanted this game and showed a lot of heart. That's something we should be proud of and feel positive about."Durham Herald-Sun (article be Tucker Frazier)
Roxboro-Courier Times (article by Greg Phipps)
No comments:
Post a Comment