Two big plays in the last two minutes of the first half turned a close contest into a one-sided affair, as Moline defeated Rock Island 37-12 at Rocky’s Homecoming on Friday night. Trailing 14-6, the Rocks made a defensive stop and used their final timeouts to get the ball back from the Maroons at their 33 yard line with 1:56 remaining, hoping to mount a tying drive before halftime. Instead, Moline’s Jack Sibley intercepted Jae’Vion Clark-Pugh’s pass and returned it 45 yards for a touchdown. After the kickoff, the Maroons got a strip sack and recovered the fumble at the Rocks’ 28, leading to a 39-yard Nolan Ducey field goal with 1 second remaining, making it 24-6 in favor of the Maroons at the break.
The Maroons’ running attack was the star of the game. Marc Cary opened the scoring with a 58-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter for a 7-0 lead. He had 120 yards in the first quarter and finished with 180 on 18 carries. Cary was named Godfather’s Pizza Moline Maroons Player of the Game. Elijah Warren ran for 127 yards on 26 carries, including two second-half one-yard TD plunges. Overall, the Maroons totaled 377 yards on the ground on 60 rushing attempts.
Trailing 30-6, the Rocks tried to build some second half momentum. They got a 66-yard dash for a score from RB Temar Hudson, who earlier had an apparent 51-yard TD run called back on a holding penalty. That cut the deficit to 30-12. Elijah Venegas then recovered an onside kickoff at the Moline 46, but the Rocks couldn’t move the ball. Back in the second quarter, the Rocks’ Evan Ellis had recovered a kickoff mishandled by Moline at the Maroons’ 25, but that also resulted in no points. Hudson scored both Rocky TDs and finished with 124 yards on 16 carries. Hudson was named Hungry Hobo Rock Island Rocks Player of the Game.
Moline (3-2, 2-1 in Western Big 6 play) plays a non-conference contest on Thursday at 6:00 p.m. as Thornton Township (0-4 pending a Saturday afternoon game vs Thornridge) visits from Harvey, IL. Rock Island (0-5, 0-3) visits United Township (2-3, 1-2). Both games will be live on QCSportsNet.