While regular season home field advantage had not worked in the Streetsboro Rockets’ football team’s favor this year, having home field in the playoffs was a different story. The Rockets pulled away late to defeat West Geauga 35-21 in the first round of the Ohio High School Athletic Association Division IV Region 13 playoffs last Friday evening at Rockets’ Stadium.
“We told our kids it was going to be an old-fashioned Northeast Ohio knockdown, drag it out kind of running game,” said Coach Pete Thompson. “The team that stops the run better and more consistently would win the game. I don’t think either team punted during the game.”
The Rockets (9-2, 6-1) will face Lake Catholic in the quarterfinal at Great Lakes Cheese Stadium in Burton on Friday evening at 7 p.m.
“Our coaching staff got to see them live last week,” noted the nine-year coach. “They are fundamentally sound and a good, physical football team. It will be another physical test for our kids and hopefully our line of scrimmage looks a little bit different.”
On Friday, the teams traded touchdowns as both offenses were fueled by their lead tailbacks. Senior running back/defensive back Miles Baker anchored the Wolverines’ rushing attack while junior tailback//defensive Marcus Council led the way for Streetsboro.
After West Geauga tied the score at 21-21 in the third quarter on a 19-play, 80-yard drive, the Rockets returned the favor with Council scoring his third touchdown of the game on a 14-yard touchdown run to push them ahead again 28-21.
As methodical as the Wolverines’ drives had been, Streetsboro executed more explosive plays consistently, which allowed them to keep the upper hand for most of the game.
“We don’t draw them up that way,” Thompson said. “We just want to keep moving the chains and getting first downs and if they go big, we certainly have some guys who have big-play capability every time they touch it.”
West Geauga started another drive, but the Rockets came away with their second turnover of the game as senior wide receiver/defensive back Manny Gibson intercepted senior quarterback Finn Keenan’s long pass attempt and Streetsboro’s offense took over at its 22.
“I just tried my best to focus on Miles Baker to stop him but at the same time play my part and not let anything get behind me and make sure all of the defensive backs behind me were on the same page,” said the Rockets’ senior. “As a defensive back you have to stay focused and disciplined and can’t let anything behind you.”
Streetsboro bled the clock on a long drive and scored the decisive touchdown as Council galloped into the end zone on an 8-yard scamper, stretching the lead to 35-21. The Rockets’ defense stopped West Geauga from scoring again and ended the game by sacking the 5-foot-11 Keenan on consecutive plays.
Council paced the Rockets by rushing for 137 yards and four touchdowns in 16 attempts.
According to Council, he was motivated to match the 5-foot-10 Baker pound-for-pound in the rushing game, as the Wolverines’ senior tallied 213 yards and two touchdowns on 31 carries.
“It definitely was a shootout,” Council added. “At halftime I went into the locker room and talked to myself and told myself we were going to win the game and that is what we did.”
In addition to prevailing in a clash between two explosive offenses, Streetsboro extended its home playoff winning streak to six games, having not lost a home postseason contest since 2020 when their season ended at the hands of Canfield.
Thompson acknowledged that his team took a lot of pride in relying on home field advantage in playoff action to extend their season.
“We have not lost on the road in the regular season in three years,” he said. “For our seniors, it was their last game on this field no matter what. These four years for our seniors, they have been a part of the golden years of Streetsboro football and have been part of something special. It was a great way for them to end it.”
To carry on their season for another week, the Rockets overcame a West Geauga offense that largely resembled their own with a dynamic rushing attack and an extremely physical offensive line.
Council said that in some ways, the Rockets were battling themselves given how similar the teams’ offenses are to one another.
“A couple of times we knew what was going and a couple of times they hit us with some stuff, but we bounced back,” he said.
