ROCKINGHAM – After Hamlet Middle School’s 36-0 victory over Cordova in last week’s season opener, Red Ram head coach John Ware was asked if his guys could stand up to the adversity of playing on rival Rockingham Middle School’s home field in week two. He responded by saying, “whatever situation we are put in, I’d like to think our boys can get the job done.”
Ware’s red and black clad Rams exceeded all expectations by dominating all three facets of the game to blank their rivals 34-0 on the road.
Hamlet used its defense and special teams to win the field position battle and set its offense up for success. Hamlet’s average starting position was the Rockingham 38-yard line, while the Rockets started an average of 66 yards away from the end zone per possession.
Hamlet kicker Billy West executed a variety of different kicking styles to keep the Rockets guessing and the coverage team never allowed the Rockets to reach midfield. Defensively, the Red Rams limited the Rockets to just 32 total offensive yards in the game – negative five in the first half.
“I’m at a loss for words,” Ware said to his team following the game. “If you would have told me three weeks ago that we would not have given up any points, I wouldn’t have believed it.”
Unlike last week, Hamlet was unable to hit on all cylinders in the game’s opening possession. After starting at its own 35-yard line, Hamlet managed to move the ball into Rockingham territory to the Rocket 44-yard line. After being sacked twice and tagged with an intentional grounding call, the Red Rams only managed to get the ball back to the Rockingham 44-yard line where they turned it over on downs.
Rockingham struggled as well, going three-and-out and moving backwards four yards in the process forcing the Rockets to punt. The punt was shanked and Hamlet’s Knowledge Short returned it 13 yards to the Rockingham 35-yard line. Jayden Hamilton followed the punt with a six-yard gain. On second down, Jordan Bostick took a pitch from Hamlet quarterback Jason Walker and outran two Rocket defenders to the one-yard line before diving over a third into the end zone.
On the conversion attempt, Rockingham’s Jason Robinson managed to grab hold of Hamlet’s Javion Smith and held on until a host of Rockets could bring Smith down and limit the Red Ram lead to just six with 1:05 remaining in the first.
The Rockets nearly returned the favor. Four plays into the ensuing possession, Rockingham quarterback Dillon Veach connected with Keonta Pegues for what appeared to be a 47-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown. However, a Rockingham blocker 15 yards away from the play was tagged with a holding call nullifying the impressive play.
On the very next play, Veach went to the air again, but coming down with the ball was Hamlet’s Amer Morrison. Morrison zigged and zagged his way between several Rockets for a 66-yard return before finally being brought down at the Rockingham seven-yard line.
A huge goal line stand by the Rockets limited the Red Rams to just five of the seven yards needed to reach paydirt and the ball was turned back over to the home team at its own two-yard line.
The Rockets struggled to move the ball away from its own end zone, losing a yard during their next three plays resulting in a fourth-and-11 from their own one-yard line. A Rockingham punt from the back of the end zone was fielded by Hamilton who returned it 28-yards for an apparent touchdown.
Like the Rockets, the Red Rams had their touchdown wiped from the scoreboard due to a holding call which set up Hamlet’s offense at the Rockingham 19-yard line.
From there, Bostick bullied his way forward for 14 yards. Two plays later, Bostick carried it to the one-yard line before Smith walked into the end zone untouched on third down. The Red Rams failed on the conversion attempt but were ahead 12-0 with 16.6 seconds left until intermission.
The third quarter started with more of the same. On the first offensive play of the second half, Veach was picked off again, this time by Hamilton who returned it 52 yards to the end zone. Bostick ran in the conversion attempt, and the Red Rams were in control 20-0 just 46 seconds into the third quarter.
After another Rocket three-and-out, Hamlet took over at the Rockingham 42-yard line. It only took the Red Rams one play to strike again when Walker found Morrison wide open in the end zone for a 42-yard touchdown pass. Bostick was once again successful on the conversion run and the Red Rams’ lead grew to 28.
One the ensuing kickoff, West booted the ball past the Rockets pinning the home team back at its own 21-yard line. This time, Joe Parsons managed to use his size and strength to push and drag Hamlet defenders down the field. Parsons had back-to-back runs of 10 and 22 yards, moving the Rockets into Red Ram territory for only the second time in the game – the first without the aid of a penalty.
The drive stalled there as the Rockets ended up turning the ball over on downs at the Hamlet 42-yard line.
The Red Rams once again wasted no time. On just the second play from scrimmage, Bostick found a hole up the middle, broke two tackles downfield, and took it 47-yards to the house with 7:47 remaining in the game. In middle school, the mercy rule is put into effect if at team is leading by at least 30 points. With the Red Rams now ahead 34-0, the officials signaled to start the running clock.
The Red Rams forced another three-and-out and were able to go into victory formation to wipe the final minute off of the clock.
Bostick finished the day with eight carries for 112 yards and two touchdowns for Hamlet. He was also successful on a pair of two-point conversion attempts. Hamilton had 36 yards on four carries and accumulated 105 all-purpose yards for the Red Rams. Parsons led the way for the Rockets with 32 yards on 10 carries.
With the win, the Red Rams (2-0) will now be idle for 22 days until the county championship game on April 21, which will be played at Raider Stadium. Rockingham (0-1) will travel to Cordova (0-1) on April 14, and the winner of that game will meet Hamlet in the championship game.
