Rockford falls to New London, 55-14, in Class 8-Player championship

By John Burbridge sports@charlescitypress.com

CEDAR FALLS — There was no need to panic when Rockford went into halftime trailing New London 21-6 in Thursday’s Class 8-Player state championship game.

After falling quickly behind, 14-0, the Warriors’ offense finally gained some traction against the Tigers’ defense while moving the ball effectively.

Late in the half, the Warriors threatened to put themselves in position to tie the game before being stopped several yards short on a fourth-and-goal snap.

Though the Tigers followed the stand with a 78-yard drive for their intermission lead and were due to get the second-half kickoff, it still seemed as if 21 points were not going to be enough to win this game.

But even though New London’s defense may not have been an irresistible force in the face of the Warriors’ offense, it does have a reputation of carrying on like a thief in the night when in comes to forcing turnovers.

Coming into the game with 35 takeaways, the Tigers added four more against the Warriors — three in the second half. That, coupled with their explosive offensive playmakers, allowed the Tigers to claw the game completely away from the Warriors in the final 24 minutes on way to winning big, 55-14.

“We usually never give up this many turnovers,” Rockford coach Torian Wolf said said after the Warriors’ first-ever state championship game. “We were also having trouble wrapping guys up. In the second half, things just began to snowball against us.”

The Tigers opened the scoring when quarterback Isaac McSorley connected with Mason Porter on an out pattern before Porter turned it up the left sideline for a 21-yard catch-and-run TD.

Then on New London’s next possession, Tiger running back Keontae Luckettt — one of the fastest players in the state at all levels — found a passage down the right sideline for a 55-yard score.

“Usually, it’s us who hits first right out of gate,” Wolf said.

Rockford responded on the ensuing possession with a long scoring drive capped by Dillon Schriever’s 3-yard run. And then after forcing the Tigers to punt, Rockford drove deep into New London territory before being stymied on the aforementioned fourth-and-goal play.

With Jordan Johnson’s 10-yard TD run to help give New London its intermission lead, the Tigers went on to score 41 unanswered points to put the game away.

Included in the decisive surge were a 22-yard fumble return TD from Porter, and a 30-yard scoring run from Luckett that came after another Rockford fumble.

In the final moments, Rockford QB Jacob Staudt connected with fellow senior Schriever on a 32-yard touchdown pass — it was a nice long spiral throw by Staudt and an impressive over-the-shoulder catch by Schriever while battling good coverage by Porter during the final play of all three players’ high school careers.

“We can proudly look at all the things we accomplished this season,” said Wolf, who took over the program after the Warriors lost 23-straight games in Class A 11-man football. “We learned a lot this season, and our underclass can learn a lot from this game for next season.”

To note, there weren’t any noticable tears on Rockford’s sidelines near the end or at the end of the game. But when the team gathered with the runner-up trophy and banner near Rockford’s seating section so its fans could take photos, many of the players couldn’t help but look away with simmering determination at the UNI-Dome’s video screen displaying New London celebrating with its trophy.

“It took a lot for us to get here,” Wolf told his players who huddled around him immediately after the game, “and there’s no reason why we won’t be back here again.”

Class 8-Player Championship Game

NEW LONDON 55, ROCKFORD 14

Scoring By Quarters

ROCKFORD 0 6 0 8 — 14

NEW LONDON 14 7 21 13 — 55

Scoring Summary

NL — Mason Porter 21-yard pass from Isaac McSorley (Roberto Carrillo kick), 7:43 1st

NL — Keontae Luckett 55-yard run (Carrillo kick), 6:03 1st

R — Dillon Schriever 3-yard run (Run failed), 10:50 2nd

NL — Jordan Johnson 10-yard run (Carrillo kick), 2:22 2nd

NL — Johnson 4-yard run (Carrillo kick), 9:13 3rd

NL — Darius Whaley 31-yard pass from McSorley (Carrillo kick), 5:27 3rd

NL — Porter 22-yard fumble return (Carrillo kick), 4:49 3rd

NL — Luckett 30-yard run (Pass failed), 11:52 4th

NL — Caydin Wahls 4-yard run (Whaley kick), 3:33 4th

R — Schriever 32-yard pass from Jacob Staudt (Kayden Lyman run), :13 4th

Final Records

New London 12-1

Rockford 11-2