Fayetteville-Perry quarterback Luke Wiederhold takes a carry for a big gain in the Rockets’ week two win over Jefferson Township.

 

By Wade Linville – 

The Fayetteville-Perry Rockets rose to a 2-0 record on the season with a 34-20 victory over Jefferson Township in week two on the gridiron, Sept. 1.
While the Rockets took care of business in week two, the Western Brown Broncos suffered their second loss to drop to a record of 0-2, falling to Little Miami 32-0.
The Rockets rose to an early 16-0 lead in the first quarter to set the stage for their 14-point win over Jefferson.
In their first scoring drive of the night, Fayetteville quarterback Luke Wiederhold took a 19-yard carry to put the Rockets at the Jefferson one yard line, and from there it was Allen rushing for a short touchdown with 4:28 to go in the first quarter. With a successful carry for the two-point conversion on the quarterback keeper by Wiederhold, the Rockets held an 8-0 lead.
The Rocket defense continued with their excellent first quarter performance, forcing another Jefferson fumble that was recovered by Fayetteville senior Nate Fisher to bring the Rocket offense back on the field to work from the Jefferson 35-yard line with 4:18 to go in the first quarter.
A 25-yard pass to Fayetteville senior Nate Tipis moved the Rockets to the Jefferson 10-yard line, and they would top off the drive with a short touchdown run by Fisher. Allen carried for the two-point conversion that followed, and with just over three-and-a-half minutes to go in the first period it was the Rockets leading 16-0.
Fayetteville head coach Kevin Finch was pleased with the team effort in the week two win.
“At one point, we fumbled the ball and it looked like Jefferson was going to return it for a touchdown, but Chase Lockwood and Luke Wiederhold pursued across the field and tackled their player at our 10 (yard line). Consequently, our defense tightened up and got a stop four plays later, all because our team was giving maximum effort,” said Finch.
Coming off a 20-12 week one victory over Manchester, the Rockets now stand at a 2-0 overall record on the season.
“Right now our players are playing for each other, and holding each other accountable to be good team players,” said Finch. “We really have to clean up some mistakes this week, such as missed assignments, dropped interceptions, turnovers on offense, and hidden yardage in the special teams return game.”
Leading Rocket rushers in the week two win was Hunter Jester, who took 35 carries for 269 rushing yards.
Allen racked up 191 rushing yards and four touchdowns off 40 carries.
The Rockets were scheduled to be on the road for week three on the gridiron, venturing to Notre Dame High School in Portsmouth for a non-league contest on Friday, Sept. 8.
The Rockets return home for week four on Sept. 15, playing host to Hillcrest for a non-league bout.
It was a non-league contest in which the Broncos not only failed to reach pay dirt against a well-prepared Little Miami team, but they would also struggle to put a stop to the Little Miami running game led by junior running back Lucas Patten. Patten took 30 carries to rack up 215 rushing yards with three touchdowns, averaging 7.2 yards a carry behind some sturdy blocking.
The Little Miami offense totaled 326 yards.
The Broncos trailed 13-0 at the end of the first quarter, and after giving up nine points in the second quarter it was Little Miami holding a 22-0 lead at halftime.
Little Miami managed 10 points in the third quarter to stretch their lead to 32 points, and neither team was able to reach the end zone in the fourth quarter.