ROCHESTER - In the first half of Friday's football game between Rochester and Whitko the two teams combined for 41 points and 357 yards of total offense.

In the second half the offensive sparks stopped flying as the two teams could manage only one touchdown on 208 yards of total offense as Rochester held off Three Rivers Conference rival Whitko 35-13.

If the first four minutes were any indication, a shootout could have been expected.

On the opening kickoff, the Zebras' Deric Bell brought the ball out to his own 41-yard line, giving Rochester excellent field position. The Zebras took advantage as they mounted a seven-play, 59-yard drive that culminated with quarterback Kevin Clark keeping the ball and taking it in from three yards out.

Whitko would refuse to be outdone.

On the subsequent kickoff, Wildcat kickoff returner and tailback Josh Gonzalez returned the kick 84 yards, pulling his team even with Rochester at 7-7.

After both teams had drives that resulted in punts, Rochester lit up the scoreboard once again when Zebra fullback Dustin Burkett hit paydirt from seven yards out. On their next possession, Rochester struck again. This time it was halfback Dan Wagoner, who scored from one yard out.

Burkett and Wagoner gave the Whitko defense fits all night as the two combined for 207 rushing yards on only 28 carries.

With the two backs averaging 7.3 yards per carrry, Rochester was able to control the tempo of the game and keep the clock running.

Whitko wouldn't go away quietly, though.

Despite its defense being pushed around by Rochester's backfield tandem, the Wildcat offense was able to keep the game close. Whitko closed to within 14 points when quarterback Ben Mohr connected with Gonzalez from nine yards out.

Keeping true to form, Rochester quickly responded. On the next possesion, Clark kept the ball again for a touchdown, this time from eight yards out.

Being down 28-13 to a ranked Rochester team, Whitko was hoping to continue with the offensive pyrotechnics. Instead, the two teams' offenses slowed down to a crawl. When Whitko did get an oppurtunity to put points on the board, the Wildcats were unable to convert.

The Wildcats received the kickoff to start the second half and started their first offensive drive on their own 32. They took advantage of the good field position, and after a long sustained drive that included 12 straight running plays, Whitko was looking at a first and goal from the Rochester 6-yard line.

#Three plays later the Wildcats were still on the 6-yard line and looking at a fourth down. Forced to air the ball out, Mohr's pass intended for Gonzalez instead landed in the waiting arms of Zebra linebacker Nate Sawyer.

Whitko's next drive again left the Wildcats with great field position as they started on their own 40. Again their drive stalled as the passing game became non-exsistent, allowing Rochester to play closer to the line of scrimmage, which shut down the running game.

Another Wagoner 1-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter extended Rochester's lead to 22, where it would stay.

For Whitko coach Bryan Sprunger, it was the combination of bad play and lack of preparation that led to his teams demise.

"It's pretty disappointing," he said. "We didn't play very well, and mentally we weren't in the game. We made mistake after mistake and it's just disappointing. We felt like we just didn't prepare."

Whitko dropped to 4-4 overall and 3-3 in the TRC, while Rochester improved to 6-2 overall and 4-2 in the TRC.

Sprunger and his Wildcats hope to be more prepared next Friday as they head to Valley for another TRC showdown. [[In-content Ad]]