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| Ryan Fyke |
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White, who plays quarterback and safety, broke an 85-yard touchdown run, when the game's result was already well in hand, to give the Rockets a 36-point lead.
The highlight was a nice finale before he left the field for good and Unity went to its second unit and coasted to a 50-13 win against St. Teresa on Friday.
“We've been trying to stay in shape and prepare for that stuff,” White said. “We had a lot of guys subbing in today, so everybody was fresh on the field.”
He accounted for 174 of 341 total rushing yards, the majority of which was split between he and his backfield mate Colton Reed.
But Reed stole the show early. His 96-yard touchdown run gave the Rockets a 12-0 advantage in the first quarter. Unity never looked back.
The senior running back added a 19-yard touchdown run late in the first half to give the Rockets a 21-0 lead, which quickly turned to 28-0 after a turnover and a White touchdown pass.
All night long, the Rockets' offensive line dominated in the trenches. White and Reed benefited from five fresh blockers up front, who didn't have to play defense.
“We're fortunate enough that we can play about five guys on the offensive line and have about five or six that can play on the defensive line and none go both ways,” Unity head coach Scott Hamilton said.
The Rockets ran the ball all over St. Teresa's field and rarely needed to pass, but Hamilton called a throw here and there just to keep the playbook balanced.
White completed 9 of 15 passes for 95 yards and two touchdowns.
The Bulldogs' offense couldn't catch up as fast as it fell behind. The backfield of quarterback Ryan Fyke and runners Zach Jarrett and Jake Handley didn't have any luck breaking off plays as big as the ones White and Reed made.
“We have to grow up right now, there's no doubt about it,” St. Teresa head coach Tim Brilley said. “They wanted it more than we did tonight. They came out, we made some mistakes and dropped our heads.”
Alex's take
Learning curve
Sophomore Ryan Fyke will be counted on to replace former quarterback Christian Williams, who transferred to Springfield Lanphier this summer.After an early 23-yard scramble showed his potential to move around and attack defenses, Fyke struggled against a tough Unity defense.
There may not be a better tape to replay and learn from than the sequence at the end of the first half.
A fumbled snap, recovered by Unity, led to a quick touchdown for the Rockets and Fyke followed it up by throwing an interception the next time he touched the ball.
Unity's Tyler Clark intercepted the under thrown ball and returned it 40 yards into the endzone, though the play was called back on a block in the back. If not for the penalty and ensuing interception thrown by Unity's Taylor White, St. Teresa may have trailed 35-0 at half.
Instead, it was a more manageable 28-0.
He was a mere 7-of-21 for 46 yards, fumbling a few snaps, under-throwing receivers and taking some big hits.
Brilley rightfully gave his quarterback the benefit of the doubt. "You hate to throw him into a fire, but we don't expect to be in a fire like this," Brilley said. "He could've hung his head and he didn't."
A redzone target
Unity's Huey Freeman is 6-foot-4, 215 pounds. It's not wonder White pays so much attention to him in the redzone.White threw fade passes to his big target a handful of times in scoring territory, though the only success came on a 15-yard touchdown in the second quarter.
Even so, Freeman is a huge safety blanket for White. If he's targeted throughout the season as much as he was Friday night, he's bound to have a big year.
amcnamee@herald-review.com|(217)421-6970
