Late kick gives Rockets victory

In a game dominated by the defenses, it turned out to be a kicker and a strong fall wind that made the ultimate difference.

Rockwood’s Chris Sterner nailed a 32-yard field goal with less than a minute remaining to propel Rockwood over host Blacklick Valley, 10-8 on Saturday.

“We wanted the wind in our favor in the fourth quarter in case it was a close game,” Rockwood co-coach Adam Rullo said.

After forcing a second Vikings fumble, the Rockets drove 38 yards on nine plays, scoring on Tyler Baker’s 2-yard run. Sterner added the extra point to give the Rockets a 7-0 lead, which they held until the fourth quarter.

“You can’t turn the ball over seven times like we did today,” Vikings coach Bill Zamboni said. “They played the whole game on our side of the field.”

Blacklick Valley finally put a strong drive together to grab its first lead in the fourth quarter.

The Vikings drove 86 yards, led by Mike McDermott, who connected with Ted Worthington on a 22-yard pass. McDermott then scored on a 1-yard run.

William Chilcott’s conversion run on a fake extra-point attempt gave Blacklick Valley an 8-7 lead.

But the Rockets drove to the Blacklick Valley 17 before sputtering offensively and faced a fourth-and-4 with less than a minute left. That’s when Rullo made the decision to have Sterner attempt a 32-yard field goal.

“I have great confidence in Chris, he has a very strong leg,” Rullo said.

Sterner didn’t disappoint his coach, as he hooked the field goal inside the left upright to give the Rockets the victory.

“I just want to thank the big man upstairs,” Sterner said. “I’ve been hitting in practice so I really had no problem going out there in that situation.”