On Friday, Oct. 17, Rock Ridge High School’s football team faced a 31-7 loss against the Tuscarora Huskies during their USA Out home game. Despite this, the night was still memorable, with members of the Student Council Association (SCA) putting together a USA out tailgate before the game, and students in the marching band and colorguard celebrating their senior night. 

The tailgate, starting at 5:30 p.m., featured many engaging attractions. SCA members organized and led a cotton candy and face painting station. Additionally, students could paint signs, receive USA-out necklaces and flags, and play sack in the hole. Choir Director Jordan Markwood and members of Rock Ridge Sings were also present during this event, and they encouraged students to sing a song in exchange for a slice of pizza. Rock Ridge’s crew team held a recruitment pop-up, too, which included machines that simulated rowing to pique students’ interest in joining the team.

The game, beginning at 7 p.m., had an initially slow first quarter. This was due to Rock Ridge’s long 17-play drive, led by senior quarterback Xavier Smith. Freshman quarterback Nesai Phok was out due to a concussion, with Smith being his substitute for this game. With two minutes and 18 seconds left on the clock, Smith scored the first touchdown of the game, bringing Phoenix up to six points, followed by a one-point conversion to give them a 7-0 lead. However, Tuscarora caught up quickly, landing a touchdown and a one-point conversion with one second left, leaving a final first-quarter score of 7-7.

As the second quarter opened, both teams struggled to move the ball. Tuscarora’s speedy playing style caught Rock Ridge off guard, causing some difficulty. “[Tuscarora’s playing style] was really fast,” sophomore fullback and linebacker Kyle Walsh said. “I don’t think we prepared for that.” With 7:08 minutes left on the clock, the Huskies managed to score another touchdown, followed by a one-point conversion, resulting in a 14-7 score.

After the second quarter, the marching band and color guard performed their show set at halftime. Titled “Castles Stained Glass,” this set included performances of “Lacrimosa” by Mozart, “Lose Control” by Teddy Swims, and “Take Me to Church” by Hozier. Once the production was over, senior night was held, where seniors in the program were celebrated for their final season of high school and commitments post graduation by Band Director Justin Ratcliff. 

The third quarter and fourth quarter were dominated by Husky touchdowns. In the third quarter, with 4:53 minutes remaining on the clock, Tuscarora landed a touchdown and converted the extra point. This marked a 24-7 final score for the third quarter. In the 4th quarter, Tuscarora completed a field goal and scored a touchdown with a one-point conversion, ending the game with a score of 31-7 and a Husky win.

Rock Ridge’s performance during this game was insightful for both coaches and players alike. This year was Assistant Football Coach Kabryn Williams’ first season coaching at Rock Ridge, and this game served as a motivator for him to know what points he needs to focus on building within the team. Williams’ goal after watching this game is to strengthen the team. “[Our team can improve] starting with football IQ and [then] learning how to play for each other,” Williams said. “Once they become better at playing for each other and not focusing on themselves, I think we’ll be fine.” This point was also emphasized by freshman wide receiver Camron Cheramie. “[Our team’s communication] could’ve been better; no one was hearing each other,” Cheramie said.

As for Walsh, this game highlighted different aspects of the team’s playing style, which they could improve on. “I think we can really just try to focus on moving the ball more, not getting stopped short, reading keys, and being able to stop [the opposing team’s] runs,” Walsh said. 

Looking forward to the next season, Williams still has hope. “Hopefully, we will fix this over the summer and over the break, but they just need to learn football and be a football team,” Williams said.

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Zahra Hameed

The Phoenix set the ball into position as they ready their play. “Our defense gets good stops, and I feel like our offense can run the ball down,” sophomore starting left guard Carter Schoenborn said.