The Streetsboro Rockets’ football team loves lifting off early against its opponents.
The Rockets rode another fast start to keep pace in conference play, beating Metro Athletic Conference and Portage County foe Ravenna 56-7 last Friday evening at Portage Community Bank Stadium’s Gilcrest Field.
“We did some not smart things against a good football last week and it jumped up and bit us,” said Rockets’ Coach Pete Thompson. “We spent this week correcting the mistakes we were making even before the ball was snapped during the week and our older players really committed themselves and said that was not who we were on Sep. 8.”
The Rockets continued holding an edge against their conference rivals, having won the last five games against Ravenna (0-5, 0-2) since 2019.
The winning streak began in 2019, the final year of the Portage Trail Conference’s existence. Since it changed its name to the MAC, Streetsboro is undefeated against the Ravens, having outscored them by a 226-45 margin.
“I think it’s the Battle of Lake Rockwell,” said senior wide receiver/defensve back Preston Hoppterton. “It’s always a big game to win the Lake but it is just another step in the MAC.”
Losing their conference opener against MAC rival Norton on Sep. 8, the Rockets picked up a much-needed conference victory to stay in the race, seeking their first MAC title since winning the banner in the conference’s inaugural season in 2020.
“Some of our kids talked and wished they could have played this game on Monday instead of Friday to get the taste out of our mouth,” said the Rockets’ seventh-year coach. “But we certainly came out hot in the first quarter and first half and it was maybe our best half of the year.”
Streetsboro needed only three plays to take the lead against the Ravens, sparked by a 52-yard touchdown run by senior tailback/defensive back Kylan Rue to go up 7-0.
The Rockets attempted an onside kick but Ravenna recovered the ball at the 50, and responded with a two-play, 50-yard touchdown drive capped off by a 4-yard touchdown run by senior running back/linebacker Austin Marshall, to knot the score at 7-7.
“That was big,” said Ravenna Coach Joseph Callihan. “A ton of credit goes to sophomore C.J. Ross and senior Bobby Melzer. We moved some pieces around this week and were trying some different things to give us a little spark right off the rip C.J. and Bobby connected and C.J. threw another deep pass back to Bobby to get us all the way down there.”
Streetsboro’s offense continued to be ignited by explosive plays and engineered a four-play, 75-yard drive capped off by a 13-yard touchdown run by junior quarterback Cohen Klimak, putting the Rockets back ahead 14-7.
The Rockets’ defense shut down Ravenna and continued building on its lead, going on a 35-0 run.
First, Hopperton scored on a 3-yard touchdown run, extending the lead to 21-7, then Rue scored his second touchdown, this time on a 29-yard run.
Hopperton then scored his second touchdown of the game on a 42-yard reception and followed up with another 3-yard touchdown run and the Rockets raced out to a 42-7 lead at the half, triggering the running clock in the second half.
Hopperton paced the Rockets’ offense by recording 86 rushing yards and two touchdowns on eight carries and also caught five passes for 152 receiving yards and one touchdown, combining for 238 yards in the first half.
“I have to give credit to the front five,” said Hopperton. “They do all of the work. We just run behind them and they get their pads over their feet and drive, take it and just do the work.”
According to Thompson, the Streetsboro senior continues to pile up records to an already impressive resume.
“He is an all-around offensive weapon,” he added. “Not to compare him to guys in the NFL but you look at Christian McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel and we have the ability to move him all around. He is already the all-time leading receptions leader in school history and has scored more points and touchdowns than anyone in school history.”
In addition to Hopperton’s explosive first half, the Rockets’ rushing game was unstoppable, with Rue and Klimak forming a lethal trio with Hopperton, with the three combining to record 264 yards.
This week, the Rockets will host MAC foe Cloverleaf at Streetsboro Rockets Stadium at 7 p.m. while Ravenna will hit the road and take on conference rival Field at Falcons Stadium the same evening.
