Rye Cove claims Scott County 'Super Bowl' over Titans

NICKELSVILLE — The first half it rained points, 54 of them. The second half it rained. A lot. Will Rollins scored three touchdowns and Carter Roach-Hodge and Cole Barnette added two apiece, leading Rye Cove to a 47-26 Cumberland District victory in front of a large and very wet audience on a stormy Friday night in the Scott County "Super Bowl" at Titan Stadium. The slight drizzle at the end of the second quarter turned into a deluge into halftime and continued into the third quarter. That was followed by a streak of lightning, forcing a 30-minute delay 39 seconds into the second half. A hard rain continued through the remainder of the game. "We told them during the break and we told them all week, once we saw the rain coming that you have got to embrace it. The team that embraces it and accepts it, that is what it is," said Rye Cove head coach Gary Collier, whose Eagles led 34-20 at the halftime break. "You can't sit there and worry about it, you have got to play in it. "We embraced it, I thought we had a good time and responded well in the weather. It was coming down, I just didn't want no more lightning delays." Rye Cove (7-3, 4-1) will host a Region 1D playoff game next week, while Twin Springs (6-4, 3-2) will hit the road, with both opponents to be determined. Four touchdowns, two by each team, had the score at 13-13 going into the second quarter. Rye Cove added another score to take a 20-13 lead and then Ben McElroy was able to slow down the Titans, picking off a Clay Ross pass to give the Eagles to ball deep in Twin Springs territory. "I saw the guy coming in motion. I just kind of saw on film they did that a lot and I saw him throw it and I jumped up and got it," McElroy said. "I think it is pretty important, especially to change the way of the game." Rye Cove took advantage, with Barnette scoring from two yards out to put the Eagles up 27-13. That was followed later by a scoring pass from Tyler Shupe to Roach-Hodge from 46 yards to build a 34-13 lead with 1:22 left until halftime. "When you get down two scores to a really good football team it is hard to come back from. Credit to them, they are a really good football team," Twin Springs head coach Keith Warner said. "I love the way my guys competed." Roach-Hodge scored on a 1-yard run to cap off a nine-play, 62-yard drive to open the game, with Maverick Cress connecting one of his five successful extra point kick attempts. That drive was highlighted by a 38-yard pass from Shupe to tight end Luke Jessee. "We were going to take the ball first. It worked out anyway," said Collier, whose Eagles got the ball first when Twin Springs deferred to the second half. "If we won the toss we were going to take it first before the weather got here." Twin Springs answered Roach-Hodge's early touchdown with one of their own, with Julian Pascual dashing 54 yards for the score, with the Bruno Dunree extra point attempt making it 7-7 in the opening period. Rye Cove came right back, taking advantage of a short squib kick, with runs of 19 and 14 yards by Barnette leading to a 4-yard run to the end zone by Rollins. The two-point conversion failed for a 13-7 lead. The Titans came right back again, with Kiser dashing 74 yards down the right sideline. After the extra point was blocked, the teams were tied at 13-13 going into the second quarter. Big runs by Barnette, Rollins and Roach-Hodge carried the Eagles to another score, a 4-yard run by Barnette for a 20-13 lead. McElroy finally stopped the flip-flopping of scores, picking off a Ross pass that led to a two-touchdown lead. "We knew they were going to be physical up front. We wanted to slow them down and maybe catch some breaks there and we didn't. We extended some of their drives with some penalties," Warner said. "That is stuff you can't play when you are playing championship football. "Tonight, that is the makings of a playoff game. When you are playing really good football teams, you just can't make those mistakes and shoot yourself in the foot and put yourself behind the sticks or extend their drives." Twin Springs was forced to punt on its next possession, with Kalub Mullins crushing a 55-yard kick to the Rye Cove 6-yard line. After several long runs, Shupe completed his second pass of the game, the scoring pass to Roach-Hodge to put the Eagles up 34-13. Shupe threw for 101 yards on the night. "A great game, our kids played hard. I thought our quarterback grew up a lot tonight, managed the game a little bit better than normal," Collier said. "With the weather we didn't put it on the ground a lot. "Early on the touchdown pass over the top, what a great ball he threw there. The tight end screen, he did a good job there. He is growing up for us, he has come along a little bit." The Titans narrowed the margin to 34-20 after a Ross 21-pass pass to Kiser, followed by a nifty 20-yard scoring run by Ross with 45 seconds on the clock, as the Eagles simply couldn't put away the Titans. Luke Jessee led Rye Cove with eight tackles on the night, and they were tested by the shifty Ross. "Just a ball-control type thing," said Collier, whose Eagles gained big chunks of yards on the ground, with Barnette gaining 193, while Rollins had 99 and Roach-Hodge finished with 68. "That is kind of good. We would score on a drive and then, boom, they would bust one. "They were well prepared and they played hard. They scored those two quick touchdowns and just when you think you are going to go up three scores, they would bust one. What a great game. That was a great game." Both teams added touchdowns in a penalty-riddled third quarter in the rain, including a 5-yard run by Ross to pull the Titans to within 34-26, his second score of the game. Ross threw for 131 yards, but was held to 39 net yards on the ground. Pascual finished with 91 yards rushing, while Kiser had 84 yards rushing, four receptions for 91 yards and led both teams with 11 tackles. "One of our biggest fears coming into this was not one of their quarterback called runs, but (Ross) getting out of the pocket on his own. He scored two or three touchdowns doing that and made some big third down plays," Collier said. "He is a great ballplayer. We had a little pressure on him late, a grounding penalty was big late. If we could learn to tackle a little bit we would have got him three or four more times." Any hopes of Twin Springs catching the Eagles was dashed by a few of many third quarter penalties, which extended a Rye Cove drive that ended with a 14-yard score by Rollins to put them up 40-26 going into the final period. "We just knew up front we had to slow to them down. They are big, they are physical," Warner said. "We cut it to six there and a couple of plays there and then on fourth down we jump offsides and extend that drive and they go down and they go up 14. Against really good teams you can't help them extend drives." Rye Cove was able to keep the Titans from scoring in the final period, while adding a score on a 38-yard run by Rollins for the final points of the game, as the Eagles improved to 35-22 against Twin Springs in a series that began in 1969. It was the fourth straight win for Rye Cove after the Titans won 11 of the previous 13 meetings. "A lot to still work on," Collier said, "but a great football game."