Rockets win big over Arlington

PANDORA – It was mostly treats, with a few tricks mixed in for Pandora-Gilboa in a Halloween night playoff victory Friday. The Rockets looked scary in a 42-20 win over BVC foe Arlington, using a dominant second half to shut down the Red Devils. On Arlington's opening possession, two bad snaps in a row and a two-yard QB keeper had Arlington punting on 4th and 22 after just three plays. Pandora-Gilboa answered and drove all the way from its own 27 to the goalline, where a QB-on-QB stop from Arlington senior Trenton Heacock forced P-G senior QB Cory Gerten to be just shy of the endzone to force a turnover on downs.The Rockets weren't fazed by coming up short on their opening drive, keeping up the defensive pressure and once again forcing the three-and-out. P-G needed just two plays to reach the endzone, as senior back Ben Burkholder found himself wide open up the middle after the handoff and jogged in for the 33-yard touchdown. "We preach all the time that bad things happen," Rockets coach Matt Hershey said. "It's all about the next play. Yeah, we got stopped down there, but we pinned them too down there. It wasn't a win-win, necessarily, but it was a calculated risk. We put ourselves in position to score again."On the next Red Devil drive, P-G senior Chase Meyer came up with an interception on the third play of the possession, before Arlington senior Lukas McIlroy did the same to the Rockets just two plays later. The momentum swing on McIlroy's interception was just what the doctor ordered for Arlington, as eight plays later, Heacock found McIlroy in the corner of the end zone wide open for a tying score. Six plays later, P-G found the endzone once more. From the five-yard line, Gerten faked a handoff to Burkholder before running it in himself untouched. In yet another quick scoring drive, Arlington used only four plays to find paydirt, with McIlroy coming up big once again. A 40-yard McIlroy catch opened up the drive, and a 22-yarder capped it off, once again in the corner of the end zone. The Rockets, now tied with Arlington at 14, had around two minutes to make something happen before the halftime whistle. Boy, did they. Meyer fielded the kickoff to the 13-yard line,and went on a powerful run up the left side that looked like it might go all the way. Now, it was time for Ben Burkholder to do what he does best: keep his legs churning up the middle. Burkholder rattled off an eight-yard run, a four-yard run, one that got stopped at the line of scrimmage, and finally a one-yarder on a wildcat design to give the Rockets a one-score lead going into the half. "To get it in the red zone like that," Hershey said. "We burned the clock down so they wouldn't have another shot at it. For us, it was a great way to end the half, going up a touchdown.""He shocks everybody, I think," Hershey said on Meyer's burst of speed on the return. "He's not a big kid, but boy, oh boy, he plays with a lot of heart."While the first half was back-and-forth, the second half was a completely different affair. P-G took its momentum from the late first-half score and ran with it, scoring two touchdowns in the first five minutes of the third quarter to put the game out of reach for the Red Devils. Once again, it took only three tries to score, as Gerten connected with Meyer on a 60-yard completion down the right side just a minute and a half into the third. Just before the seven-minute mark, after a punt by Arlington, there was a 32-yard completion to junior Breydon Ferguson for a Rockets TD.Arlington's next drive ended in disaster, as P-G sophomore Zahnder Boggs would come up with a 12-yard sack on Heacock to force another Red Devil punt from their own 25-yard line. P-G followed that up with its longest possession of the game, going 77 yards as Gerten found junior Jace Fenbert on a 15-yard TD toss. "We were trying to focus on the run game and work on our physicality," Hershey said. "Credit to Arlington, they kinda shut us down up the middle almost all night long, except for a couple of bursts by Ben early in the game. We knew we could rely on the passing game, but we've gotta get better up front. Having those guys on the outside that ran good routes tonight, got open, they made great catches for Cory. It was a full team effort."The Red Devils, now down three scores, tried to make something happen with 11 and a half minutes remaining in their season. Seven plays into that drive, however, P-G's defense once again proved too much for Arlington to overcome. Senior lineman Landon Siefker recorded a six-yard sack, before Boggs once again made an impact play. The six-foot sophomore came up with a fourth-down stop, as Arlington needed four yards to extend their drive, and instead came away with just three and turned the ball over. "He's a young sophomore that has a ton of ability," Hershey said. "He's gotta focus on reading keys and playing within himself. Sometimes, he likes to try and do everything. When he does play within our system and himself, he's a heck of a player."The Red Devils would score late on a five-yard rumble by sophomore running back Eli Hurt to put things at 42-20, where they would stay for the final whistle. Gerten threw for 261 yards for the Rockets, completing 14 of his 20 passes for three touchdowns and two interceptions, and rushing for 26 more yards and a score. Meyer was Gerten's top target, with 114 yards on just five receptions, including the 60-yard TD grab and an interception on defense. Burkholder ran for 95 yards and two scores, carrying the ball 21 times for an average of 4.5 yards. Ferguson ended the night with 98 yards and a touchdown on four receptions. Fenbert finished with three receptions and a touchdown for 28 yards, while Boggs added two catches for 21 yards. Pandora-Gilboa's defense made an impact all night on Friday, but it was especially evident on the ground. Arlington's Ayden Cavinee, who is the Red Devils' most dangerous athlete, finished with just three yards on six carries. "When we read our keys and did our jobs, we were pretty good tonight (defensively). We got lost a few times with their passing game, and not reading our keys. But, against the run, I think our guys did a very good job." P-G's defense, fueled by Boggs and Siefker's sacks, Meyer's interception, and junior linebacker Conner Gerten's strong interior presence (59 tackles, 5 TFL going into Friday's game), wore down Arlington's offensive unit as the game ticked down. "We had two or three sacks on the night, which is semi-uncommon for us," Hershey continued. "For our guys to keep battling, it wasn't pretty early. They kept going, and I think we got stronger as the game went on."Heacock passed for 113 yards, completing nine of his 15 attempts for two touchdowns and a pick. He added 18 yards on 16 carries. McIlroy's big game saw him tally 109 yards through the air, notching two scores on eight receptions. Forrest Yeater added 18 receiving yards. "Credit to those guys," Hershey added. "They played really, really hard. We just got loose for a few, that kinda opened it up. But, that's a heck of a football team over there."Arlington's season came to a close with a final record of 7-4, unable to avenge its 10-point loss from Week 5. Moving to 8-3, Pandora-Gilboa will now set its sights on the undefeated North Baltimore Tigers, who will be on fresh legs after earning a first-round bye. ARLINGTON 0 14 0 6–20P-GILBOA 7 14 14 7–42SCORING PLAYSFIRST QUARTERP-G - Burkholder 33 Run (Cannode Kick)SECOND QUARTERARL - McIlroy 13 Pass from Heacock (Leisure Kick)P-G - Gerten 5 Run (Cannode Kick)ARL - McIlroy 22 Pass from Heacock (Leisure Kick)P-G - Burkholder 1 Run (Cannode Kick)THIRD QUARTERP-G - Meyer 60 Pass from Gerten (Cannode Kick)P-G - Ferguson 32 Pass from Gerten (Cannode Kick)FOURTH QUARTERP-G - Fenbert 15 Pass from Gerten (Cannode Kick)ARL - Hurt 5 Run (2-pt Failed)