The Rochester football team’s 42-26 win over Shelton on Friday began about as unexpectedly as could be for the Warriors: with a passing touchdown.
“We got ourselves behind the stick on that very first drive,” Rochester coach AJ Easley said. “It was on like fourth-and-7, and we thought it was the right time so we pulled it out. Carson (Rotter) made a nice throw and put it where we needed to be. When we have to, we can.”
The pass in question went 11 yards from Rotter to Tristan Nelson. It’s the Warriors’ third completion in four games this season — and their first touchdown — bringing their total to 47 passing yards so far this fall.
Then, the Warriors (3-1, 2-0 2A EvCo) got back to what they do best, and ran the ball down the Highclimbers’ throats.
Rochester ran for 419 yards, bringing their average on the season to a shade over 450 per game.
Tate Quarnstrom led the way with 186 yards on 22 carries, scoring touchdowns of 19, 17 and 47 yards.
“Tate just did a really good job of not getting tackled,” Easley said. “I bet he broke 20 yackles tonight. He was all over the place.
Complimenting him, Palmer Watt ran the ball 26 times for 128 yards, and Ethan Rodriguez went for 94 on 13 rushes.
“All three of those guys did a phenomenal job of running behind the offensive line,” Easley said. “They’re starting to figure it out, and it looks really good.”
On the flip side of things, Xander Peterman led the Warriors with 11 tackles, and Watt had 10, while Rotter pulled down an interception.
The Rochester offense helped the defense itself, holding the ball for nearly the entire first half on three long drives and limiting Shelton to just eight offensive plays in the first two quarters.
“Sometimes, it’s our best defense,” Easley said.
Now on a three-game winning streak, the Warriors will head south to the Hub City to take on Centralia next Friday.
