The Blues: Rockdales explodes for 51 second half points to keep the bell

40 years.  Entering this week’s Battle of Bell contest, that was how long it had been since Rockdale had won back-to-back games in the series between the two rivals.  That streak came to a screeching halt on Friday night from Yoe Field as the Rockdale offense could not be stopped in the second half, reeling off 51 points en route to a 63-34 win.

In 1976, Ed Cauley’s Yoemen had played the eventual state champs to a very tight and respectable 14-6 final.  A quarterback on that 1976 team was Kerry Locklin.  His son, Torry, which is a senior at Rockdale this season after moving in from New Mexico, may have one-upped dad in this particular game.  Locklin carried the ball 27 times for 255 yards and accounted for three touchdowns.  

Most of that production came in the second half, which is when the Tigers started to settle down and start producing.  

“We just came out slow and had butterflies,” said the star quarterback.  “They (the coaches) said take a deep breath and that we are the better team and we had to realize that.  We just came out and proved it.”
 

Tiger coach Jeff Miller added on a similar message, stating that the Tigers just simply had to start making the necessary plays to put points up on the board.

“At halftime we felt like we were playing really good defense, but so were they,” said Miller.  “We had to clean some stuff up.  We were not executing with our skill guys like we felt we should have been.  I don't think the moment of the game was too big for us, but we were making mistakes we shouldn't make.  We told them if you go and clean it up you will score a bunch of points.”

It was really a tail of two different halves for both teams as Cameron also played winning defense the first two quarters, holding what had been a potent Tiger offense to just 12 points.  

The lone score for Cameron came when a Tiger defender jumped offsides.  Quarterback Zack Andress alertly launched the ball down field on the free play, hitting Iverson Westbrook for a 42 yard score, putting the Yoemen up 7-6.  

Rockdale would regain the lead during the mid part of the second quarter with a 3-yard walk in score for JaQuayln Crawford.  From there, the deficit just continued to rise until the very end of the game.  

“We made some mistakes,” said Yoe coach Tommy Brashear.  “Once we got down, I think the kids started panicking a little bit and did not play as disciplined and didn't read their keys like they needed to.  That led to some more problems.”

Crawford, much like last season, had a big impact throughout the night.  The Oklahoma commit had a productive 84 yards rushing with three touchdowns and added on one score through the air.  

“Our offensive line got after it,” said Crawford on why things turned around so much in the final 24 minutes.  “Without that, nothing would have happened offensively.”

Jackson Perry also ran for 86 yards, and as a whole the Tigers rushed for 447 yards and had a total of 621 yards on the evening.  Cameron did give up 80 points in 2016, but the total yardage was up from the 438 in that game.  The 63 points is the second most given up in the entire series dating back to when the teams first started playing over 100 years ago in 1911.  

The Cameron offense did come alive in the second half, and to kept up with the Tigers for some time with Andress connecting with Kobe Young (17 yards, 24-14), Garrett Roeder (29 yards, 44-27) and Zi’Zirrius Holt (34 yards, 50-34) to cut into the deficit.  Westbrook did also return a 65-yard kickoff late in the third to bring the game back to 10 at 31-21.  

However, Rockdale never wavered and put the final touches on the win with linebacker Dylan David returning a fumble for 70 yards to end the score fest.  

The win now gives the Tigers (5-2/3-0) a 6-5 advantage in this game the past 11 years.  The mindset and expectations in this game have changed dramatically.  

“We don't hope to beat them anymore, we expect to beat them,” said Miller.  “I think that has changed.  Our expectation is to win and not to hope to come over here and win.”
 

Crawford added:  “We came into this game years back before I was even around expecting to lose or compete really, and now the tables are turned.  We are expecting go back-to-back in district and run the table.  We have two tough opponents coming up but we are going to work our tails off.”

For the Yoemen (2-6/1-3), it’s all about trying to finish fourth in the district and prepare for a very tough first round opponent.  

“We have to win out, and the first round is probably going to be West or Malakoff,” said Brashear.  “I have not seen Malakoff, but I have seen West and I know they run the ball pretty dang good.  If we get in, we are going to have to stop the run.”

Scoring

1st Quarter

Rockdale: Torry Locklin 1-yard run - XP failed - 6-0 Rockdale - 7:46

Cameron: Zack Andress 42-yard pass to Iverson Westbrook - Adrian Lewis kick - 7-6 Cameron - 2:23

2nd Quarter

Rockdale: JaQuayln Crawford 3-yard run - XP failed - 12-7 Rockdale - 6:40

3rd Quarter

Rockdale: Locklin 73-yard pass to Tyler Lehmkuhl - XP failed - 18-7 Rockdale - 11:41

Rockdale: Jackson Perry 36-yard run - Luis Iruegas kick - 24-7 Rockdale - 10:40

Cameron: Andress 17-yard pass to Kobe Young - Lewis kick - 24-14 Rockdale - 7:30

Rockdale: Locklin 8-yard pass to Crawford - Iruegas kick - 31-14 Rockdale - 3:52

Cameron: Westbrook 65-yard kickoff return - Lewis kick - 31-21 Rockdale - 3:43

Rockdale: Crawford 20-yard run - Iruegas kick - 38-21 Rockdale - 2:33

Rockdale: Jackson Perry 32-yard run - kick failed - 44-21 Rockdale - 0.28

4th Quarter

Cameron: Andress 29-yard pass to Garrett Roeder - xp failed - 44-27 Rockdale - 11:46

Rockdale: Brajon Ayala 7-yard run - xp failed - 50-27 Rockdale - 8:48

Cameron: Andress 34-yard pass to Zi’Zirrius Hotl - 50-34 Rockdale - 7:28

Rockdale: Crawford 21-yard run - Iruegas kick - 57-34 Rockdale - 5:19

Rockdale: Dylan David 70-yard fumble return - xp failed - 63-34 Rockdale - 4:14

Stats

Cameron

First Downs: 15

Rushing: 29-125

Passing: 13-30-1, 223 yards

Punts; 3-32.7

Fumbles/Fumbles Lost: 3-3

Penalties: 10-80

Individual

Rushing: Andress, 10-57; Davion Bynaum, 5-43; D.J. Fripp, 11-34

Passing: Zack Andress, 13-30-1, 223 yards

Receiving: Iverson Westbrook, 3-81; Garrett Roeder, 3-53; Ki’Zirrius Hot, 3-43; Kobe Young, 3-41

Rockdale

First Downs: 24

Rushing: 49-447

Passing: 7-16-1, 174 yards

Punts: 2-28

Fumbles/Fumbles Lost: 1-1

Penalties: 7-60

Individual

Rushing: Torry Locklin, 27-255; Jackson Perry, 7-86; JaQuayln Crawford, 10-84

Passing: Locklin, 7-16-1, 174 yards

Receiving: Tyler Lehmkuhl, 3-104; Jackson Perry, 1-32; Chris Johnson, 1-26