RUSHVILLE – The Macomb High football squad had a number of questions entering Friday night’s season-opening contest at Bob Wixom Field in Rushville against Rushville- Industry.
The Rockets scored first and last, but the Bombers scored 28 unanswered points in between on the way to notching a 28-14 LincolnLand crossover contest.
“We thought if our O-Line could hold up – we had some new faces out there – that we could put points up on them,” said MHS coach Tanner Horrell. “The question was could we stop them. We knew that their running game was a load.”
The Rockets took the opening kickoff and proceeded to drive 69 yards in 14 plays.
Senior Rylan Reimolds scored on a 4-yard run before Sebastian Bertoux added the two-point conversion run that RIHS an 8-0 lead with 4:49 left in the opening period.
But the Bombers responded on their first offensive drive of the season.
Covering 60 yards in six plays, junior quarterback Kaden Knupp completed passes of 11 yards to Carter Havens and 16 yards to Drew Watson.
That set up Drake May’s 26-yard run for the touchdown. Hayden Katz added the point after touchdown kick, bringing MHS within 8-7 at the two-minute mark of the opening period.
RIHS started its next drive at its own 19. Eight plays later, the Rockets reached the Bomber 17.
A holding call against the Rockets stalled the drive however and RIHS turned the ball over on downs at the Macomb 19 with 7:05 remaining before halftime.
The Bombers answered by driving 81 yards in 10 plays. Knupp connected with Watson on pass plays of 17 and 48 yards before Knupp’s one-yard run gave the visitors a 13-8 lead with 1:05 left before intermission.
“Most of the time when I was a single receiver, they double-teamed me,” said Watson, who finished with five grabs for 82 yards. “That led to other receivers making catches.”
“It’s really nice to have them out there,” said Knupp of Watson and senior Nolan Hoge. “They have a lot of experience and they know what they’re doing. It’s always great to have experience out there.”
A 17-yard return by Bertoux on the following kickoff gave RIHS possession at its own 41.
Six plays later, a 26-yard run by Bertoux moved the ball to the Bomber 21 with just seventh-tenths of a second left.
But the Macomb defense sacked Rocket QB Brady McGinnis to end the half.
RIHS junior Grace Kabamba successfully executed an on-side kick to start the second half that was recovered by Bertoux at the Bomber 49.
“We knew that on-sides kick was coming and he made an outstanding play,” said Horrell of Kabamba.
But after gaining just two yards on two plays, the Rockets attempted a pitch play from McGinnis to Reimolds on third down.
But Hoge met Reimolds in the backfield and the ball came loose, recovered by Drake Taber at the Rocket 40.
“Our defense responded really well. That’s what won the game for us,” said Horrell. “If Rushville goes down and scores, it’s a whole different ballgame.”
“Our defense in the second half, it just came out hot,” said Watson. “They got the on-sides kick, but we forced a fumble. You can’t want any more out of the defense for what they did in the second half.”
Mays ran three times for 19 yards before Knupp connected with Hoge for a 21-yard TD strike.
Katz added the PAT kick that upped the Bomber lead to 20-7 with 8:10 remaining in the third quarter.
The Rockets managed just one first down on their next drive before being forced to punt.
The Bombers drove 77 yards in 10 plays. Knupp connected with Kyler Norton for a 26-yard pass play and Knupp added a 20-yard run before May’s 5-yard run capped the drive with 1:21 left in the third quarter.
Knupp and Watson connected for the the two-point PAT, giving Macomb a 28-8 advantage.
“That’s the key to the game. Getting stops and then responding (on offense),” said Horrell. “I thought we did that all night.”
The game’s final score came with 7:54 left as a one-yard run by Reimolds that finished off a 76-yard, 12-play drive. The PAT failed, setting the eventual final score.
Making his first start at quarterback, Knupp finished 9-of-13 for 172 yards and one TD.
“I was a little shaky the first half for the first couple of plays,” said Knupp. “But we got settled in and just got things done for sure.”
“The guys stepping in for the first time, Sam (Potter), Eli (McClure), Will (Thomas) and Aiden (Reynolds) did an outstanding job and Charlie (Bodiford) as well,” said Horrell of the line.
“They set the tone protecting Knupp and I thought we ran the ball pretty well too.”
May had 90 yards rushing for the Bombers, while Knupp added 51 yards on 10 carries.
The Rockets finished with 172 yards on 49 carries. Reimolds recorded 98 yards on 19 carries, while Bertoux and Bradley Hollingsworth added 63 and 39 yards on 13 and 11 carries respectively.
McGinnis finished 5-of-10 for 66 yards.
“I am really proud of my kids,” said RIHS coach Brian Lafferty. “We have a small roster (26 players sophomore-seniors) and we are going to battle injuries from now until the end of the year.”
“We have to stay together and keep playing,” he added. “Every single senior and junior on the team played. They’re all going to play. We need them all.”
May led the Bomber defense with 14 total tackles. Havens added eight total tackles, while Hoge and Jeshua McPheeters added six total tackles each.
“At the end, it was bend, but don’t break, and don’t give up the big one,” said Horrell of the defense. “I thought we did that all night.”
“It’s a big win,” said Watson. We’ve always struggled against wing-T in the past facing this offense from a defensive standpoint. We just did a great job.”
We’re looking to build on to next week and the weeks after that,” he added.
“We have a lot of confidence going into week two,” said Knupp. “It was a great game for my varsity debut for sure.”
“We’ve got to reset,” said Horrell. “We’re going to get after West Hancock because they’re going to be hungry for a win.”
The Bombers head to Jim Repplonger Field in Hamilton next week, opening LincolnLand Large School Division play against West Hancock.
The Titans opened their season last week, dropping a 51-28 decision at Farmington.
