(Proctor Quarterback Will Hawkins is finally wrapped up by RFA's Anthony Durso after an 18 yard run.)
For RFA this was a tough pill to swallow as the Knights badly wanted to give their new coach Ted Swavely a win in his opening game.
Swavely, in his first year at the helm in Rome, has earned the respect of his players and support of the rabid Rome fan base.
When Rome's senior sensation Kyle Kimball raced 88 yards to pay dirt with the game's opening kickoff, to give RFA a 6-0 lead just 8 seconds into the season, fans had to believe the home team was on the way to an early season win.
Kyle Kimball goes the distanceKimball contributed 158 yards of offense to his team's total. Seventy yards on the ground and rushing TD and 88 return yards.
Kyle scores again
(RFA cheerleaders have plenty to cheer about after Kyle Kimball takes opening kickoff to the house.)
Just like that the home team led 6-0. A bad snap led to a botched 2 point conversion try as Proctors defense kept Zack Hemphill out of the endzone. Proctor let fans know they came to play on the very next drive.
It took just 8 plays and 3:37 off the scoreboard clock for the visitors to answer. The Raiders traveled 68 yards in all to score and take a 7-6 lead after, Mr. I do everything but drive the bus, Will Hawkins kicked the extra point, following a 5 yard TD scamper on a fourth and goal from the 5 by Richard Pete.
Pete packs a lot of punch for a guy who weighs just 137 pounds and stands all of 5 feet 7 inches. Hawkins set the tone for the drive and the game when he took off and ran for 39 yards on a QB keeper on 2-10. The Knights would be chasing him all night long.
The diminutive one gave the Black Knights fits all game long and left about seven orange and white clad kickoff team members with their heads on a swivel during an, ESPN highlight reel, 90 yard kickoff return, to get the Raiders right back into the game at 16-13.
On the night, Pete accounted for 230 yards of offense. 79 yards rushing and 151 return yards. Aye Carumba!
RFA opened up its biggest lead of the night, 16-7, after Dylan Thomas boomed a 38 yard field goal through the uprights at 10:18 of the second quarter.
Dylan Thomas boots one through
Mr. Pete's TD run changed the momentum to the Proctor side of the field and also the feel of the game.
(Proctor's Richard Pete (11) breaks away from the pack on a second quarter kickoff return, which went all the way for a 90 yard touchdown. RFA's Dylan Thomas give chase. )
Richard Pete scores his first TDMr. Pete moves his feetThe Roman's had jumped out to that 16-7 lead playing tough defense, solid offense that took advantage of great field position, when RFA started out at the Raiders 25 following a fumble by Chris Evans.
Nicholas Brement pounced on the loose pigskin, Dante Mezza, RFA's senior signal caller getting his first career start, led his team to the promised land.
Mezza hooked up with Joyce Royce for 6 yards in the flat and then ran for 7 himself, to set up a Kyle Kimball 9 yard TD run to make it 13-7. The four play drive took just 1:27 off the stadium clock.
On the night, Mezza was 7-13 in the air for 54 yards and rushed for 48 yards and 1 td on the ground. Mezza was injured late in the fourth quarter and left the field on a stretcher. The severity of his injury was unknown. We will check and let you know.
(RFA Quarterback Dante Mezza (11) prepares to deliver a 2nd quarter pass as Proctor defender Marco Cornacchia (24) zeros in.)
A fumble by RFA fullback Rich Stapleton set Proctor up in great field position at the Rome 42 with 9:50 left until halftime. The lead RFA had worked so hard to build, against the much bigger more physical Raiders, disappeared just 6 plays later when Hawkins hit Karmon Stubbs from 3 yards out to put Proctor up 20-16. The drive lasted only 2 minutes and six seconds.
Proctor led 20-16 at the break. RFA would grab the lead again following another Proctor turnover. With just 20 yards of real estate to navigate, the Black Knights found the endzone and the lead when Rich Stapleton plowed his way in from 3 yards out to make it 22-20 RFA. Dylan Thomas hit the PAT but had the point taken off the board on a penalty.
Rich Stapleton bulls his way into the endzonePesky Richard Pete ripped off a beauty of a return on the ensuing kickoff and the Raiders wasted no time regain the lead, as lucky #7 scored from 8 yards out on a keeper and just like that the Raiders led 27-22. The 24 yard drive took only four plays to complete.
Rome would rally once more on this moon light night in the Copper City, as Dante Mezza scored from 1 yard out and Ethan Froelich made a circus catch in the back of the endzone to add two more points. It was now 30-27 Knights.
Back and forth the two rivals went. RFA would score and Proctor would answer. Answer they did with a 65 yard lighting fast drive that was a Hawkins highlight reel. The last frame on the reel saw Hawking score from 4 yards out. On the drive Hawkins ran the ball 5 straight times before he punched it in to make it 33-30 UP.
With 5:27 left, Hawkins sealed the deal on a critical fourth and 3 scoring from 21 yards out. Final, Proctor 40 RFA 30.
Hawkins closes the door on the KnightsThe Raiders looking to improve on a 1-8 2008 campaign out-muscled a smaller but scrappy bunch of Black Knights who look to rebound on the road next week at Corcoran. Proctor visits West Genny next.
Proctor (1-0) 40 RFA (0-1) 30
1 2 3 4 Total
Proctor 7 13 7 13 40
Rome Free Academy 13 3 14 0 30
The moon was full and the stands were full of hungry fans who jammed tradition rich RFA stadium to witness the birth of a new high school football season and the renewal of one of the oldest rivalries in the nation and the oldest in the state. What a way to kick off the MHTS/WIBX broadcast season as the Raiders and Black Knights put on a late summer fireworks display fans witnessed with eyes and ears wide open.
