The Streetsboro Rockets’ football team has a lot of questions to answer this season about how they were going to replicate last year’s explosive offense. They answered some of those questions when they outlast Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy 29-21 last Friday evening at Rockets Stadium’s Quinn Field.
“It was sloppy at times,” said Coach Pete Thompson. “You are going to have that in week one coming off of scrimmages. That is a good solid football team. They have a couple of really good players. Our kids persevered and got physical in the second half and we challenged our offensive line at halftime that we would put this game on them and I think they responded. We have some good dudes up front on the offensive line.”
Last year, the Rockets (1-0, 0-0) opened their season with a 36-22 victory against CVCA, fueled by a dominant offensive performance by Preston Hopperton. Streetsboro returned this season having graduated one of the most dynamic offensive players in school history and needed to find some offensive production from other players.
Not having Hopperton to ignite the offense did not slow Streetsboro down as its rushing attack still propelled the offense, especially in the second half.
Although the Rockets held a 13-7 advantage at the half, the eight-year coach said that they may have won the half but were still being outplayed, having squandered several scoring opportunities.
Streetsboro swung the tide in its favor on the Royals’ opening drive of the second half, when they forced a three-and-out and then the CVCA offensive line snapped the ball over the punter’s head. The Rockets hustled to recover the loose ball but the CVCA punter booted it out-of-bounds from the end zone, resulting in a safety, increasing Streetsboro’s advantage to 15-7.
The Rockets capitalized on their free possession with some dominant runs by senior quarterback Cohen Klimak and sophomore tailback Marcus Council, who helped engineer an eight-play, 54-yard drive highlighted by a five-yard touchdown run by the 5-foot-7 sophomore to stretch the lead to 22-7.
In his first game with the Rockets after having transferred from Akron Archbishop Hoban, Council recorded 103 rushing yards on 16 carries and two touchdowns.
“It really means a lot,” Council said. “I did not know what was going to happen but I came here with the mindset that I could make a lot of plays just by being a team player.”
CVCA junior quarterback Charley Lenak trimmed the Rockets’ advantage to 22-14 when he connected with junior wide receiver Brayden Harris on a 30-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter to cap off a four-play, 71-yard drive but Streetsboro’s ground attack proved too much to overcome.
The 5-foot-9 Klimak continued moving the chains with some big rushing gains, eventually setting the Rockets up at fourth-and-two at the CVCA 16. Council delivered the final blow, scoring on a 16-yard rushing touchdown after initially being stopped short of the goal line but continued moving the pile thanks to a big push by several of his teammates, extending the Rockets’ lead to 29-14.
Klimak overpowered the CVCA defense by rushing for 193 yards and one touchdown on 25 carries, frequently refusing to go down on the first or second tackle.
“That is just how I play football,” Klimak said. “It does not matter what position I play. I played running back then transferred to quarterback, but I just run with the mentality that nobody can tackle me, especially the first guy. I go out with an attitude and I am just locked in and I am doing everything I can for the team.”
Although it was only the first game of the season, Klimak acknowledged that the team felt it had prove, that it could still be an offensive juggernaut even after graduating a dynamic playmaker.
“A lot of people had doubts,” he said. “We all did not know what was going to happen. We got new players that can play football. We are all out here to play football and we are just as good as the team we were last year, and we are going to prove it.”
In addition to Klimak and Council, senior tailback Janiere Cook contributed 52 yards and one touchdown on eight carries. If Friday night was an indication of things to come, the Rockets’ rushing attack is still in good hands.
According to Thompson, the Rockets are still deep at the running back position, boasting a three-headed monster in Klimak, Council and Cook.
The Rockets’ homestand continues when they welcome Normandy to town on Friday at 7 p.m.
