RAPID RIVER — Momentum swung back and forth like a pendulum on a clock in an eight-player, Division 2 football playoff opener here Thursday night.

The Rapid River Rockets had it when it mattered most as they pulled out a 30-26 triumph over the Rudyard Bulldogs.

Rapid River (6-1) travels to Cedarville for a regional contest next Thursday or Saturday. Rudyard finished 3-4.

“This was a great game both ways,” said Rockets’ senior Ishmael Hernandez. “I love competitive games. I’m just glad we can move on. Couple times we had our heads down, but we persevered. Our linemen did a great job.”

The Rockets scored the game-winner on a fourth-down gamble with four minutes, 59 seconds left to play when senior quarterback Bryce Lundquist heaved a 74-yard touchdown pass to senior end Max Lenaker.

“We asked the players if they wanted to punt (during a time-out),” said Rockets’ coach Steve Ostrenga. “They wanted to go for it, and Max made a great catch. Everybody brings their A-game in the playoffs. We had to pull out all the stops. This is a nice win for the Rockets.”

On the ensuing kickoff, senior Lou Mayer returned the ball to the Rockets’ 43-yard line.

The Bulldogs maintained possession and were facing a fourth-and-four situation at the 21 with 2:02 left.

Lundquist intercepted junior E.J. Suggitt’s pass at the 15 on the next play, enabling the Rockets to gain possession and run out the clock.

“That was a great fourth-down call on their part,” said Rudyard coach Jim Suggitt. “Peterson (Cam) was right there, but he just missed a tackle. This is going to sting for a while, although that’s sometimes going to happen.”

The Bulldogs gained a 26-16 advantage on Suggitt’s one-yard run up the middle with 53 seconds left in the third quarter. The Rockets, however, stopped the conversion pass.

“Stopping that conversion was huge because that kept it (the deficit) at 10 points,” said Ostrenga. “Rudyard had a great team. They ran the ball well, but as the game went on, I thought we got better. We saw No. 9 (Peterson) as quarterback on film. That’s an adjustment they made.”

Rapid River responded on its next possession, shaving its deficit to 26-24 on Lundquist’s 15-yard aerial through the middle to Lenaker with 8:40 remaining in the contest.

The Rockets trailed 14-8 at halftime, but Lundquist tossed a 33-yard pass to Lenaker, who dragged a few defenders into the endzone for a 16-14 with 10:23 left in the third stanza.

Rudyard regained the lead on a bizarre play on its next possession.

Lenaker intercepted a pass in the endzone, but Mayer then stripped the ball and recovered it for a TD to give the Bulldogs a 20-16 lead at 9:02.

Rudyard opened the scoring on Suggitt’s 35-yard aerial to a wide-open Mayer on the opening possession.

The Rockets went ahead 8-7 on Flath’s 11-yard run to the right side midway through the opening frame.

Rapid River outgained Rudyard 355-254 in total offense. Flath ran 25 times for 90 yards, and Lenaker caught five passes, including three for TDs, for 152. E.J. Suggitt rushed for 77 yards on 27 carries and completed 8-of-16 passes for 142.

“E.J. plays with a lot of emotion,” said coach Suggitt. “It was a roller-coaster tonight. The opportunities were there. They just made a couple more plays than we did. I’m just glad happy we got to play this year. It didn’t look good for a while (due to Covid-19).”

Rudyard 7 7 12 0 — 26

Rapid River 8 0 8 14 — 30

Scoring plays:

First quarter

R — Suggitt, 35-yard pass to Mayer (Nolan kick), 8:22

RR — Flath, 11-yard run (run successful), 6:03

Second quarter

R — Suggitt, 20-yard pass to Peterson (Nolan kick), 1:45

Third quarter

RR — Lundquist, 33-yard pass to M. Lenaker (Lundquist run), 10:23

R — Mayer, fumble recovery in the endzone (run failed), 9:02

R — Suggitt, one-yard run (pass failed), :53

Fourth quarter

RR — Lundquist, 15-yard pass to M. Lenaker (Lundquist run), 8:40

RR — Lundquist, 74-yard pass to M. Lenaker (pass failed), 4:59