Rocori’s defense dominates and ‘Steils’ a road victory

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Unless you were a Rocori Spartans football fan, it was a night only a duck would appreciate in Richfield. The Spartans came 90 minutes south to face the Academy of Holy Angels Stars. In constant rain all night, the Spartans used a balanced attack to get the lead, a running game to take control, and a dominating defense to make sure the Stars never got close. Coming off a defeat to number one ranked Becker the week before, Rocori bounced back nicely with a 29-0 shutout.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After exchanging punts, Rocori's offense went to work. Quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='242378' first='Will' last='Steil'] connected on a pair of deep outs to pick up a couple of first downs. A solid inside run by [player_tooltip player_id='743236' first='Aaron' last='Baisley'] set up a second and short. Steil would take advantage and go up top. He threw a perfect pass down the seam, hitting a well-covered [player_tooltip player_id='392533' first='Grant' last='Tylutki'] in stride for a thirty-yard touchdown.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"It was a little wet and a little hard to throw, but I thought we did everything the right way," Steil said.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Steil was not only hurting the Stars with his arm; he was hurting them with his right leg. Two punts by Steil pinned the Stars inside the fifteen-yard line. The field position game set up the Spartans' first touchdown, and with the Stars' offense backed up again, Rocori's <strong>Andy Pedroza</strong> made likely the easiest interception he will ever make when he was hit right between the numbers on a ball thrown into an area without a receiver anywhere in the area. He worked his way down the sidelines until he was pushed out inside the ten.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Stiel scored a few plays later to give the Spartans a 15-0 lead.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With Holy Angles with their best drive of the first half, the Spartans shut things down thanks to a third-down sack by defensive lineman <strong>Kaden Rausch</strong>. A great punt return by Tylutki followed up the sack – again flipping the field position.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Leading 15-0 at the half, the Rocori defense made another big play. Defensive end <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1148524' first='Dwight' last='Kiffmeyer']</strong> came flying off the edge and blew up the running back in the backfield. The hit forced the ball free, and Rocori was in business on the Stars' side of the fifty.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Although they successfully passed the ball in the first half, with the conditions worsening, the Spartans took the air out of the ball and leaned on their offensive line. Steil picked up a first down up the middle. A few plays later, he faked a handoff, used his speed to find the corner, and then found the end zone from thirty yards out.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"In the first half, we had to do what we could to get up," Stiel said. "From there, we wanted to control the game and get our run game going. That is what we did."</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With nearly two full quarters to play, the Spartans led 22-0.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Twenty-two points was more than enough for Rocori's defense, but Stiel used his legs to put the game out of reach after they forced another punt. After a ten-yard run, the senior's most impressive run picked up twenty yards as he broke three tackles.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"Our boys did a heck of a job against a good offense," Stiel said about his defense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Out since early in the first game of the season, Rocori running back <strong>Anthony Rodziquez</strong> was getting his first action in a month and showed what a plus he will be down the stretch. He was breaking tackles and moving the chains. He set up another rushing touchdown by Stiel for the final points in a 29-0 victory.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"Anthony has been hurt all year, Stiel explained, "but he is such a playmaker. He runs as hard as he can and brings a hard hat mentality to football."</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kiffmeyer made two straight plays on defense to end the Stars' final drive. The senior ran down the quarterback and made a stop on an option for a loss, and then he read another option play to allow just a short gain, forcing a fourth down.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"We have just been focusing on us," Stiel concluded," and don't let outside factors affect our play. No matter our record or who we face – just play our game." Playing their game has the Spartans at 5-2. Holy Angels fell to 3-4.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->