Rockets grounded in loss
BURLINGTON -- Burlington Central's rushing game couldn't find its footing Friday as Oregon went home with a 14-6 win.
The Rockets' option attack stalled in the second half as Central managed only 16 yards on 14 carries after the intermission. The Rockets recorded only 131 yards on the ground for the game.
Michael smart | Staff Photographer
"Our option game really wasn't there," Central quarterback Dan Hagberg said. "I made some bad reads. We just didn't get going. We're not going to make the playoffs unless we can come out and be a solid team for four quarters."
Penalties also hamstrung the Rockets' effort. Central was flagged 10 times for 71 yards, including a pass interference call late in the first quarter that helped set up an Oregon score.
The Hawks (3-1) took advantage of getting the ball on the Rockets' 13-yard line after the penalty when Nick Snyder rumbled into the end zone from 1 yard out three plays later. Rudy Castillo rushed for the two-point conversion to put Oregon ahead 8-0.
While Central (2-2) couldn't gain much on the ground, Hagberg did engineer a scoring drive just before halftime by completing a 34-yard pass to Jason Wagner down to the Hawks' 5-yard line. Wagner finished the drive on the next play with a touchdown run, but couldn't find the end zone on the two-point try.
Despite the promising finish to the first half, the Rockets couldn't mount any more offense.
Central's longest play of the second half was an eight-yard scramble by Hagberg late in the game. The Rockets picked up only two first downs after halftime, one of which came via the rush.
"I don't think we ever established much momentum," Central coach Aaron Wichman said. "During the game it seemed like we were just trying to hold on."
Meanwhile, Oregon's offense kept churning out enough yards to keep the chains moving. The Hawks had eight first downs in the final two quarters.
Oregon added a score on an 11-yard run by Rudy Castillo to go ahead 14-6 with 4:25 left to play.
The Hawks had 232 yards for the game, all on the ground.
"We knew it was going to be a physical game," Wichman said. "I told the guys afterwards it was exactly like we thought it would be. They were just more physical (than us)."
Central did come up with a pair of key defensive stops. Bryan Bell recovered a third-quarter fumble on the Rockets' 13-yard line, while Max Kling picked off Oregon quarterback Ryan McWethy on the Rockets' 15-yard line in the fourth quarter.
On Central's final drive, Hagberg was sacked for an 11-yard loss on fourth down near midfield. A five-yard face mask call on the Hawks gave the Rockets one more chance, but a Hagberg pass fell incomplete.
Wagner led Central with 46 yards on 11 carries, while Hagberg finished with 40 on 14 attempts. Hagberg also completed 3 of 6 passes for 52 yards.
