Short-handed Rochester gives up lead late, falls to Laurel in Big Seven battle
HICKORY TWP. – Undermanned, Rochester couldn’t afford to give Laurel many breaks Friday night.
The Rams did, however, and the Spartans rallied for a 30-21 win in a WPIAL Class 1A Big Seven Conference battle at Spartan Stadium.
“Big plays become a factor in a critical game,” Rochester coach Gene Matsook said. “When you’re going back and forth with two teams fighting with each other, we gave up some big plays that our defense can’t give up. We just gave up too many big plays in too many critical times.”
Rochester (3-2 overall, 2-1 conference) entered the game with a new look on offense. Starting quarterback Parker Lyons suffered a season-ending knee surgery late in last week’s win over Shenango. Jayden Norman took over under center for the Rams, who didn’t seem to miss a beat in the first half.
After Laurel (3-1, 2-0) scored on the game’s opening drive, Rochester took over in the second quarter. Duke Mullins got into the end zone on a 3-yard run on the first play of the period for a 7-6 lead.
The Rams scored on their next two possessions as well. After a Spartans punt, Rochester marched 60 yards for a touchdown. Mullins crashed in from the 1 for a 13-6 advantage.
On Laurel’s next possession, a high snap sailed over the quarterback deep in Spartans’ territory and Antonio Laure pounced on the ball at the 25. Five plays later, Mullins was in the end zone again and Rochester had a 21-6 edge with 2:29 left in the first half.
Laurel got a spark on its next possession as Chase Tinstman lofted a 64-yard touchdown pass to Colin Bartley with 1:39 to go.
The Spartans maintained the momentum in the second half as Rochester’s offense sputtered.
Forced to punt on their first two possessions of the second half, the Rams narrowly missed having the first kick blocked, but the second one did get blocked as Laban Barker pounced on the ball at the Rams’ 6. One play later, Landon Smith cruised into the end zone to make it a 21-19 game.
“I thought our team was physical in the first half. I thought we did a really good job. We just had a couple of missteps at the wrong time,” Matsook said. “We had bad field position in the second half and that didn’t help us, either. We got backed up and had to punt the ball and we had a breakdown and it cost us.”
After Rochester was forced to punt on its next possession, the Spartans drove 64 yards for another score and a 27-21 edge with 2:23 remaining in the third.
The Rams put together a long drive in the fourth, but turned the ball over on downs at Laurel’s 28 with 7:22 to go. Methodically, the Spartans drove to the 25 and Zane Boughter kicked a 27-yard field goal with 4:12 to play.
Rochester drove deep into Laurel territory once again, but Norman was intercepted at the 7 to seal the victory for the Spartans.
“Credit to Laurel. They fought back and won. They are a good team, too,” Matsook said. “I was proud of my kids tonight. We had kids out with injuries and kids going in and out of the lineup and we still fought to the end. I was proud of them.”
Norman finished 7 for 16 passing for 94 yards, but was intercepted twice. He intercepted a pass on defense, too.
“Jayden came in and did a great job for us; he really did.” Matsook said. “For coming into his first game into a tough situation with a short week, he had to step up and he did a great job for us. I am proud of him.”
Mullins led Rochester with 60 yards on 15 carries. He added four catches for 53 yards. Laure finished with 52 yards on 16 carries. He had three catches for 41 yards.
The Rams look to bounce back next week against Union (4-2, 1-1).
“I told the guys it’s not a sprint. It’s a marathon,” Matsook said. “We still have a long way to go. We have a lot of conference games left. We’ll regroup and start getting back to work next week.
This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Short-handed Rochester gives up lead late, falls to Laurel in Big Seven battle
