No rust for Rockets
Burroughs’ 3 TDs help club win first game in 3 weeks
Playing their first game in three weeks, the Judson Rockets came out with fresh legs and rode a hot start to a 28-16 victory over Steele on Friday at Lehnhoff Stadium.
The second-ranked Rockets (5-1 overall) took over sole possession of first place in the District 27-6A standings at 5-0. Fifth-ranked Steele dropped to 5-3 and 5-1.
Junior quarterback Michael Burroughs scored on two long runs and threw for a third big score to lift the Rockets in their first game since Oct. 30, when they beat East Central 48-13.
Burroughs rushed for scores of 47 and 20 yards and connected with Anthony Evans for a 76-yard touchdown in the third quarter that helped seal it.
The Rockets entered Friday’s contest coming off a 14-day quarantine stemming from a positive COVID-19 test within the program.
Judson had an open date two weeks ago and postponed a game against Smithson Valley, originally scheduled during the quarantine period, to Dec. 5.
The good news for the Rockets is they didn’t have to forfeit any games, and their path to the district championship remains clear.
That road won’t be easy, with the “Hammer Bowl” against rival Wagner on Friday afternoon followed by the season finale with
Smithson Valley, which improved to 6-1 and 4-1 with a 31-7 win over East Central on Friday.
Judson got on the board quickly Friday with two touchdowns on their first six plays from scrimmage.
Burroughs scored from 47 yards on the Rockets’ third play to go up 0.7-
After the Knights made it 7-3 on Cameron Hawk’s 26-yard field goal, Judson’s De’Anthony Lewis broke a tackle, raced between two defenders, and outran a safety before reaching the end zone for a 49-yard score that put the Rockets up 14-3 at the 3:25 mark of the first
quarter.
Junior defensive back Eric Nolden set up the Rockets’ next score when he picked off Wyatt Begeal at Judson’s 38-yard line.
That led to a 20-yard score by Burroughs with 4:17 left in the second quarter. Steele was penalized for a face mask when it stopped the Rockets on third down three plays before to keep the drive alive.
Steele cut Judson’s lead to 21-10 with 1:22 left in the second quarter on Begeal’s 1-yard keeper.
The Knights crept within 21-16 when Michael Boynton capped a 99-yard drive with a 12-yard scoring run with 1:25 left in the third quarter.
Burroughs quickly answered when he found Evans wide open
for the 76-yard score 11 seconds later to give the Rockets a 28-16 lead.
Steele put together a promising drive in the fourth quarter that was kept alive when Judson was penalized for a sideline infraction after a coach made contact with a sideline official who was trailing a play.
The Knights drove it to the Rockets’ 13. But after a series of penalties, Saiveion Johnson picked off Begeal in the end zone on fourthand-21 to end the comeback.
The Rockets sacked Begeal three times on that drive.
Steele still leads the all-time series 7-4, but the Rockets now have won their past four meetings.