Bob Jones stays in control to rout Northridge
Roderick Randolph runs against two Northridge defenders
(RECORD PHOTO/LINDSAY VAUGHT)
MADISON- This year, Bob Jones made sure there would be no comeback from opening game opponent Northridge as the Patriots jumped out quick 14-0 in the first quarter, led 28-6 at the half, and cruised to a 48-20 victory.
Senior linebacker Nick Holman set the tone early with a quarterback sack on Northridge’s first play from scrimmage.
Bob Jones wasted little time getting on the board with a 68-yard drive that featured a 50 yard run by Jay Rogers. Quarterback Tyler Whalen hit Roderick Randolph on an 11-yard touchdown pass. The fake extra point was ruled no good.
Bob Jones next score came after Tyler Brutofsky sat down in a passing lane and made an interception and ran it back to the 10-yard line. Jay Rogers went in from three yards out to close the first quarter.
The Bob Jones defense got another sack, this time from linebacker David Norris to force a short Northridge punt. The offense kept clicking on a 53-yard drive culminating with quarterback Tyler Whalen running in untouched on a read option. Ryan Crooks had a catch and run to set up Whalen’s short touchdown run.
The versatile Crooks had nine catches for 123 yards in the first half. He would later score another touchdown in the third quarter as Bob Jones broke the game open.
Kicker Matt Trulock got untracked after the fake and was successful on all four of his kick attempts.
Jay Rogers rushed for 73 yards on six carries in the first half and had 92 yards rushing before retiring in the third quarter.
“I’ve been working really hard this offseason to get stronger and be more agile and it showed up tonight,” Rogers said. “I have to give credit to my offensive line. A lot of people are downing them they think it’s a weak point but the last two weeks they have been playing real well.”
“It feels good to get the win. We didn’t want to be embarrassed by this team again. We came out and executed offensively and defensively.”
Northridge got on the board late in the second quarter with a long drive and short touchdown run.
Whalen had a strong first half completing 14 of 18 passes for 164 yards and one touchdown passing and one running. He completed his first 10 passes of the game. He was however sacked four times including a hard one in the third quarter.
That was just one part of the game that was not up to the satisfaction of Bob Jones head coach Kevin Rose.
“He’s got to get the ball out of his hands or escape to the line of scrimmage,” Rose said.
“He can’t stand there and hold it. In 6A football you have to go through your progressions and if there is nothing there you have to get rid of it but he’s going to get better.”
Rose was also concerned with the five penalties Bob Jones committed in the first half. Two of them were fifteen yard varieties. One stopped a drive on offense and the other helped Northridge score their touchdown.
“In the kicking game we let them run it out to the 40 or 50 a couple of times which I wasn’t pleased with at all,” Rose said.
Bob Jones starting defense played into the third quarter before retiring having given up just six points.
Bob Jones tacked on two more touchdowns in the third quarter to go up 42-6. Carlos Davis had a touchdown run of 16 yards and Crooks had a 25 yard touchdown catch and run.
“We made a statement of where our program is,” Rose said. “We were not pleased with the way we played last year and we’ve made a lot of improvement in the last 365 days,” he said referring to a 40-28 loss to Northridge to open last season. “We have to get better each week the rest of the way.”
Next Friday night Bob Jones is at home against James Clemens who won their first game against Johnson.
