Lakes defeat Rockets in 8-man action
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RAPID RIVER- On Friday, October 2, the Rapid River Rockets dropped a 58-16 football decision to top-ranked Lake Linden-Hubbell, falling into the Lakes' tempo early in the game.
The Lakes began fast, scoring the first touchdown by senior Brady Axford and the two-point conversion with 6:56 left in the first quarter for an 8-0 lead.
Shortly after, they added another touchdown and conversion by junior Blake Lebo for a 16-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, at 11:12 the Rockets found some momentum to put points on the board. Senior quarterback Lane Olson powered in a touchdown, followed by a conversion to shorten Lake Linden’s lead to 16-8.
Lake Linden quickly responded by adding three more touchdowns and conversions of their own from seniors Brady Axford and Josh Daavettila, junior Blake Lebo, senior Tyler Axford and junior Tobin Baril for a 38-8 advantage
In the third quarter, Lake Linden continued to control the game. Eleven seconds into the quarter, Axford scored his third touchdown followed by a two-point conversion by Baril. extending the Lakes’ lead to 46-8.
Although Rapid River continued to fight defensively, the Lakes were able to spot gaps that kept them pushing strong. Nearing the end of the quarter Tobin Baril was able to earn his first touchdown, and the team’s last, leaving the Lakes up 58-8.
Rapid River kept battling even after being down by 50 points. With 9:56 remaining, sophomore Coen Smith fought through the gaps to give the Rockets the last score of the game. Although there was no other scoring for the quarter, both ends were fighting hard to keep the score where it was.
After the game, Lake Linden's head coach Brett Gervais said he was pleased with how his team executed, especially on the big plays that set the tone early.
"Well, I thought that up front we figured things out and were able to capitalize on that," he said. "We have guys that have been putting in work all season. Even with our ability to get our second running back in, we wanted to get him some reps so we can stay healthy throughout the season, and we were able to do that. So I was happy with that, too."
Rapid River head coach Steve Ostrenga said the early big plays from Lake Linden had a major impact on the game's momentum.
"Well, early in the game we had a nice drive going, and they took over on downs," he said. "They scored in the first quarter on some big plays -- one‑play, two‑play drives -- and that was big. We had to switch a few things up. I thought we played better defense as the game went on, but those first couple drives hurt us."
Axford, who had multiple scores, said, "It was a good team win. A big game for us after the long bus ride, but our team did a nice job showing up, coming to play, and handling the pressure well. Gotta give credit to the guys up front -- the holes were really big. Made it really easy for us backs to run through and score."
When asked about playoffs, he said they are just trying to focus.
"It's a lot. We really just try to take things week by week, one game at a time," he added. "Our head coach is really stressing to us, 'Let's go one‑and‑oh today.' Just try to win today, then we're going to focus on next week and go from there."
Lastly, from Joseph Thorbahn for the Rockets was asked how he thought the game went.
"I mean, I thought it kinda ended how a lot of people thought it was going to end with a pretty decent shutout," he said. "We did alright, better than I thought we could do, but the defense couldn't find the ball. They had very good fakes, and the offense wasn't clicking the way we wanted it to."
The Rockets host Stephenson for Parents’ Night, tonight at 7.
Lake Linden's next game takes place at home Saturday against third-ranked Crystal Falls Forest Park.