ROCHESTER — For the second time in three weeks, it was a series of unfortunate events for Rochester before halftime.
The Warriors were able to overcome a pick-six before half two weeks ago against Black Hills, but they were not able to overcome their errors late in the first half against King’s.
Everything went the Knights way in the second quarter on Friday, including an onside kick, a field goal, and a fumble recovery that led to a touchdown in the final seconds. Rochester battled back but never fully recovered, as the Knights left town with a 45-27 victory.
“It was just kind of one of those snowball things,” Rochester coach AJ Easley. “It is what it is.”
Over the course of the final ten minutes of the second quarter, King’s outscored Rochester 25-0, turning a 13-7 deficit into a 32-13 lead.
The Warriors didn’t go quietly, though. After halftime, the Warriors got a quick four and out on defense, and then Ethan Rodriguez got into the end zone for his second touchdown of the day.
After another four-and-out, Rodriguez hit paydirt for the third time to cut the deficit to just five.
“Guys were running hard, and the offensive line was moving the line of scrimmage,” Easley said. “There were times that they were getting three, four yards before they ever got a hand on them.”
While the Rochester offense was able to move the ball well for much of the game, a couple of mistakes kept the Warriors from keeping pace with the Knights.
In addition to the fumble, they also had a punt block, and because of the onside kick recovery, there was a span of more than 10 minutes of game action where they didn’t take an offensive snap.
On the other side of the ball, Rochester struggled to slow down the King’s passing game. The final statline for King’s QB Cole Adams — 16 for 32 for 220 yards and three touchdown passes — doesn’t jump off the statsheet, but he was brutally efficient when he needed to be.
On King’s second touchdown drive of the game, Adams connected with receivers to convert a third and 12 and two fourth downs.
After Rochester got within five, the Warriors got to Adams for their lone sack of the game, one that forced a third and 22. Adams found Jack Fuller deep for a 62-yard touchdown. Fuller finished with 10 catches for 143 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
“They get rid of the ball really quick,” Easley said. “It’s hard to get pressure on them … The receivers run really good routes, and the quarterback’s got a good arm … It was cool to watch two completely different teams go back and forth.”
Adams delivered the final dagger with his legs, however, as he rumbled through the Rochester defense for a 44-yard touchdown pass with three and a half minutes to play.
Braeden Caulk also added a sense of physicality on the ground, as he ran for over 120 yards and scored twice.
Rodriguez finished with a team-high 136 yards on the ground for the Warriors, and he scored three times, while Xander Peterman tallied 50 yards and also hit paydirt. Tristan Nelson had success in a limited sample size, as he ran for 36 yards on five carries.
Easley knew that King’s would be a challenge, and he was overall pleased with how his team looked, especially considering the team that awaits them next week.
Next Friday, the Warriors (3-3, 1-0 1A Evergreen) will host Montesano. The winner will be the only unbeaten team left in the 1A Evergreen standings, and it will have the inside track towards the league title.
“Since the day we decided we were going 1A, this is the one we circled on the calendar,” Easley said. “This is the reason we scheduled these guys (King’s). The speed of the game today was faster than it has been through five weeks.
“We felt like our guys had to get prepared for what Monte’s gonna bring,” Easley continued. “We got to be ready for that. We gotta find a way to be better and do the little things.”
