The Rosamond Roadrunners went into Thursday nights game knowing that the California City Ravens would be going all out to try and get their first and only win of the season at their expense.
But Rosamond was up to the challenge and had little trouble taking care of the younger less experienced Ravens scoring three second quarter touchdowns and two more in the third to come away with a 37-7 win at Rosamond High School in what was the final game of the season for both teams.
The Ravens looked like they came to play when they marched right down the field on their first possession starting at their own 20 and getting all the way to the Rosamond 13 yard line before the Roadrunners Curtis McCann picked off the first of his four interceptions on the night and returned it 77 yards to end the drive.
Neither team was able to score in the first quarter but the Rosamond offense started to click in the second. Elijah Knod finished off a 37 yard drive when he banged into the end zone on a 2nd and goal from the five on a nice second effort after being stopped initially then ran in the two point conversion to put the runners up 8-0 at 8:58.
Three minutes later McCann had his second pick of the game but took this one all the way to the house breaking several tackles along the way to a 70 yard touchdown return. Brendan Facey added the two point conversion and Rosamond was up 16-0 with 5:30 left in the second. The Roadrunners recovered an onside kick and turned it into their 3rd TD when Knod powered down the middle of the field for 38 yards bouncing off defenders until he hit the end zone for his second touchdown of the night and a 23-0 Rosamond lead at the half.
In the third Rosamond quarterback Mike Sturgill hit Sergio Arzate in the end zone with a perfect 20 yard pass for a 30-0 lead and on their next possession Facey took off down the left side line and broke through traffic for a 35 yard touchdown run to put the Roadrunners up 37-0 with 5:02 to go in the quarter. Rosamond kicker Keith Murphy was a perfect 3 for 3 on PAT’s after each of the Roadrunners final three scores.
The Ravens Gary Forbes spoiled Rosamonds shutout bid when he intercepted a deflected pass and returned it 45 yards for a touchdown with 1:54 left in the third. William Hawkins hit the PAT for the final score of 37-7.
Cal City sophomore Greg Nolan led the Ravens with 48 yards rushing on 16 carries but left the game with a concussion in the third quarter.
The Runners had 7 different players carry the ball for a total of 250 yards. Knod had 109 on 13 carries to go along with his two touchdowns. Facey picked up 47 yards on six carries and had two sacks on top of his third quarter TD.
Asked about his teams effort after the game Rosamond assistant coach Mike Hunter said “Win, lose, or draw, these kids gave it their all every game. Our defense caused six turnovers tonight and the offense ran really hard. It was a great way to end it for our seniors”.
The Roadrunners finish the season at 3-7 overall and 2-3 in league. The Ravens finish at 0-10 in their first season of play in the High Desert League.
powered down the middle of the field for 38 yards bouncing off defenders until he hit the end zone for his second touchdown of the night and a 23-0 Rosamond lead at the half.
In the third Rosamond quarterback Mike Sturgill hit McCann in the end zone with a perfect 20 yard pass for his second TD and on their next possession Facey took off down the left side line and broke through traffic for a 35 yard touchdown run to put the Roadrunners up 37-0 with 5:02 to go in the quarter. Rosamond kicker Keith Murphy was a perfect 3 for 3 on PAT’s after each of the Roadrunners final three scores.
The Ravens Gary Forbes spoiled Rosamonds shutout bid when he intercepted a deflected pass and returned it 55 yards for a touchdown with 1:54 left in the third. William Hawkins hit the PAT for the final score of 37-7.
Asked about his teams effort after the game Rosamond assistant coach Mike Hunter said “Win, lose, or draw, these kids gave it their all every game. Our defense caused six turnovers and the offense ran really hard tonight. It was a great way to end it for our seniors”.
The Roadrunners finish the season at 3-7 overall and 2-3 in league. The Ravens finish at 0-10 in their first season of play in the High Desert League.
