Rockford Stampedes back to Stun Mona Shores 31-27

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>8 minutes remained in the 4th, and Mona Shores had a commanding 27-9 lead. 4 minutes later, Rockford was leading 31-27. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Let's explore how it all happened.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Clear Waters and Smooth 1st-Half Sailing</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>From the opening kickoff, Mona Shores looked like the better team. Both teams traded possessions a few times, but Mona Shores asserted their dominance at the line of scrimmage and ran a balanced rushing attack, winning time of possession, wearing out the defense, and getting the ball to their playmakers. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Brandon Bankard scored the Sailor's 1st Touchdown</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='243089' first='Dahmir' last='Farnum'] with their 2nd</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/alex_pallone/status/1565483075575881728","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/alex_pallone/status/1565483075575881728 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Then Brandon Bankard again to make it 20-0 Mona Shores</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Throughout the entire 1st-half, Rockford looked flat, and Mona Shores looked confident and prepared. The Sailor offense was doing their jobs and doing it well. Despite a late TD from [player_tooltip player_id='286467' first='Brody' last='Thompson'], Rockford went into the locker room embarrassed. There was absolutely no energy in the air. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>A Physical 3rd-Quarter</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Looking back at the 3rd Quarter, Mona Shores still commanded the game, while Rockford showed some signs of life. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With 5:28 to go in the 3rd, [player_tooltip player_id='243093' first='KeWaun' last='Farnum'] pushed the Sailor lead to 27-7. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Rockford then got the ball back and started driving down the field. The Rams were finally starting to heat up, and [player_tooltip player_id='232200' first='Mac' last='VandenHout'] looked solid. Then, from the Shores 20-yard line, VandenHout fired a pass that was then tipped and intercepted by Trent Rosenthal.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/alex_pallone/status/1565500394981281795","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/alex_pallone/status/1565500394981281795 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>At this point, I didn't have much hope for Rockford. It would have been easy for them to throw in the towel right here, but they didn't. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Rockford then forced a safety, making it 27-9. Then, the Sailor offense stalled ocnce more, turning it over on downs. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>A 4th-Quarter Stampede </h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>(You must listen to Return of the Mack while reading this)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After forcing a Mona Shores punt, Rockford drove down the field and capped off the drive with a 21-yard [player_tooltip player_id='232200' first='Mac' last='VandenHout'] scramble. A successful 2-point conversion made it 27-17. It was at this point where I saw a little confidence and swagger from Mac and the offense. I could tell something was brewing.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Shores got the football back, and that's when Rockford Senior Captian [player_tooltip player_id='394475' first='Rick' last='Beison'] came up with a game-changing interception giving his offense the ball with incredible field position. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The very next play, this happens</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/alex_pallone/status/1565507425628815361","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/alex_pallone/status/1565507425628815361 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='232201' first='Alex' last='McLean'] comes up clutch, smoking [player_tooltip player_id='409663' first='Jaylen' last='Vinton'] in coverage while [player_tooltip player_id='232200' first='Mac' last='VandenHout'] delivers the TD strike. It was suddenly a 27-24 game with 6:12 remaining, and the Rockford sideline looked obsessively focused and locked in. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/alex_pallone/status/1565509896619057153","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/alex_pallone/status/1565509896619057153 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I had chills going down my spine as I recorded this video. The passion, leadership, and will to win from Mac and the entire Rockford team was incredible. As a surprise to nobody in the building, Rockford stuffed Mona Shores on their next possession, and the game-winning touchdown was IMMEDIATELY scored. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/alex_pallone/status/1565509489440292872","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/alex_pallone/status/1565509489440292872 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Carlson-Munger Stadium was ELECTRIC, and Mona Shores looked absolutely deflated. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Rockford then stopped Mona Shores one last time, took the ball over, and never gave it back. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Teams shook hands, and both went into their separate postgame huddles. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":434425,"sizeSlug":"full","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2022/09/IMG-8265-scaled-crop-2560x1681-1662134761.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-434425"/></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Student Section then stormed the field, and a wonderous celebration commenced. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->