ROCORI football uses offense, defense balance in win against Becker
COLD SPRING ― The ROCORI offense lined up at the scrimmage line. As they got into position, each receiver put their hands out with a different color glove.
Hunter Nistler, on the outside, had yellow gloves. Adam Langer, on the other side of the field, had green gloves. Gabe Johnson, in the slot, had teal gloves. Even the running backs with Mason Dahl and Grant Tylutki had gray and white gloves.
It didn't matter what color the gloves were, quarterback Jack Spanier was throwing to every receiver and running back on Friday night. That consistency of sharing the ball allowed ROCORI to win its season opener at home against Becker with a 31-10 final score.
"That wasn't planned," Spanier said with a laugh about the different colored gloves. "It was great to see everyone contributing on offense, especially early in the season."
This game was a revenge game for the Spartans as Becker started off the 2021 season with a 28-0 win over ROCORI at home. The location was flipped for 2022 and Spanier and Luke Van Erp remembered that game and leaving the field with different emotions.
The ROCORI defense took over at the beginning of the game shutting down Becker's offense and not allowing them to reach the red zone or the end zone. The Spartans needed that defensive spark because for most of the first half, the offense wasn't clicking.
ROCORI created an early lead with a 12-yard touchdown run from Johnson. Before that play, the Spartans used some trickery to get into the red zone.
On the first play of the first offensive drive, Spanier threw a screen pass to Will Steil. Steil took a step back and threw a pass up to Langer who caught it at Becker's 12-yard line. The next play put the Spartans up 8-0 after converting the two-point attempt.
"That was something we knew we were going to do for a while, but we didn't know when we were going to use it," Spanier said with a smile. "Will [Steil] executed it very well."
Other than that first drive, ROCORI couldn't put any points on the board for most of the first half. Becker eventually found the end zone and made it an 8-7 game.
ROCORI's offense came onto the field with less than a minute left in the first half and looking to extend the lead. Spanier used his receivers once again to drive the ball down the field and get closer to the end zone.
Once in the red zone, Dahl ran right through the middle and scored on a 16-yard rushing touchdown with 20 seconds left in the half. The Spartans went into halftime with a 16-7 lead and the momentum shifted during that break at half.
"The drive was important because it sparked our offense in the second half," said ROCORI head coach James Herberg. "We were kind of in a lull during that first half and that drive helped us get ready to close out the game."
Once the second half started, ROCORI didn't look back. The Spartans kept the foot on the pedal and scored once again in the third quarter. This time it was to some yellow gloves as Spanier found Nistler for a 43-yard touchdown to make it a 24-7 game.
The Spartan defense was locked in from beginning to end, keeping Becker to only a field goal in the second half. Van Erp said the success of the defense comes from the drive of the players of wanting to become better each day at practice or in the game.
"Every player wants to play and it gives all of us energy when we play," Van Erp said. "You can feel this energy in practice and in the games and it makes us excited to play on Friday nights."
Spanier capped off the night showing off his speed with a 2-yard rushing touchdown to create the 31-10 final score. It was a big night for the senior quarterback, but he gave all the credit to the defense.
Spanier said that he was feeding off the defense and their energy all night. He was just happy to contribute some points late in the first half and throughout the second half. This extended lead allowed Van Erp and the defense to play a little more relaxed, but with the mindset of stopping everything.
Van Erp gave the credit to the defensive line for the defense success.
"Our defensive line was able to stop the run inside and on the outside too," Van Erp said. "This stopped their running game and they were forced to throw the ball against our secondary."
This was the type of win Spanier and Van Erp was expecting to kick off the season, but they also realize its zero week and there's plenty of season ahead for the Spartans. They need to continue getting better each day and learning from these early games to use it in the later part of the season.
ROCORI will start the 2022 season with a 1-0 record and the Spartans will stay home as the team hosts Delano at 7 p.m. Friday next week. Each week will be more and more of a test to see where the Spartans are as the team looks for its best football at the end of October and into November.
"We can't take any days off," Spanier said. "We just got to keep getting better each day and we have a group of guys that want to play. That desire to play is what makes practices and games fun. It'll be good to see that carry on throughout the season."
Brian Mozey is the high school sports reporter for the St. Cloud Times. Reach him at 320-255-8772 or bmozey@stcloudtimes.com. Follow him on Twitter @BrianMozey.
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This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: ROCORI football uses offense, defense balance in win against Becker
