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TYLER -- It was Parent's Night and Senior Night, but the rain put a damper on the festivities honoring the parents and athletes at RTR in all sports. Murray County Central was the opponent on this night, and both teams were looking to redeem themselves after shutout losses last week. MCC is 3-3 on the season, and RTR is 1-5, so both teams are looking to get back on track with a win. The rain was falling throughout the night, and that made the footing a little treacherous. With the wind howling, the passing game was hampered for both teams, so the running game was the ticket. But in the end, RTR was able to complete two passes for touchdowns and play solid defense to hold on for a 22-0 victory.
The opening series for MCC resulted in a punt, and with the wind, RTR got great field position with a short punt. After one first down on a 15-yard pass play from Blake Christianson to Drew Werkman, MCC's defense stiffened and forced a turnover on downs.
MCC sophomore quarterback Teague Meyer gained ten yards and a first down, but they were stopped on fourth down. RTR took over and, on their first play, completed a 12-yard pass to Werkman followed by a 9-yard completion. Christianson picked up eight yards and Tyler Wichmann picked up six more, putting the ball on the 27-yard line.
Christianson threw the ball into the end zone, where it was tipped by an MCC defender, and it landed right in the arms of Kai Drake for a touchdown. The two-point conversion made the score 8-0 in favor of RTR.
Drew Chandler intercepted a pass in the first half for the Knights but, after RTR gained a few first downs, the offense sputtered out with four consecutive incompletions to give MCC the ball back at their own 16-yard line. The teams went into the locker room for halftime with RTR holding an 8-0 lead.
RTR received the second half kickoff, but they were unable to move the ball and had to punt. MCC went three plays with no gain, thanks to a Werkman sack, and they were stopped short on fourth down and turned the ball back to RTR.
Sean Griesse picked up eleven yards, and Werkman had a 12-yard reception, putting the ball on the 12-yard line. Christianson then hit Luke Schreurs on a 12-yard touchdown pass, and with the 2-point conversion, RTR increased its lead to 16-0.
The third quarter ended with an Isaac Janish interception for the Knights and RTR led 16-0.
The teams took turns turning the ball over, whether it be on downs or via a fumble, to start the fourth quarter. The running game picked up, and RTR was able to run the clock down to 26 seconds. Then Tyler Wichmann broke loose and ran 26 yards for a touchdown to put the game away. The PAT was no good, but RTR had secured a 22-0 win.
In a game that saw very few penalties, a lot of good runs, and some timely pass receptions by RTR, the line on both sides gave RTR the edge.
"I told the team, this is October weather, and we have to overcome that, and it came down to the line of scrimmage. I thought that defensively, we owned the line of scrimmage," RTR head coach Darren Baartman said. "Offensively, we had some chances to score but we didn't take advantage of that. But we took a ton of time off the clock, and we had some key drives that used up a lot of clock, which limited their opportunities. Their running back and their quarterback have shown some great running ability, and I thought we did a really good job of not letting them get loose for some big gains."
RTR goes to 2-5 and they travel to TMB next week for the last regular season game. MCC falls to 3-4, and they host the Wabasso Rabbits to end their regular season.