Desmond Chaney gets a tackle.

Jack Meyerkorth goes up for the interception.

Quarterback Westyn Amthor hands off to Brock Holmes.

Even with all of the hype leading up to the home opener for Rock Port playing a rematch of last November’s state game against Worth County, it was hard to know if the Jays were going to be up to the challenge, as a laundry list of injuries was too long for comfort.

Rock Port received the ball to start the game midfield, but four plays into the game, quarterback Westyn Amthor would hit receiver Jack Meyerkorth on a quick stop and go when Worth County defenders would strip the ball giving them their first possession. Two plays later, Jude Archer went 57 yards putting Worth County on the board first. This would be the only score of the first quarter as both teams worked to find their groove. The Blue Jays would regroup and in the second quarter score 18 points. Tight end Reid Ellis got things started by catching a pass over the middle going 35 yards to tie the game. The Jays defense would then come up big with a fumble recovery by Westyn Amthor who scooped the ball and scrambled into the end zone for the second score. Amthor then connected once again with Ellis to give the Jays an 18-6 lead going into halftime.

In the second half, Worth County quarterback Hayden Sanders hit Jude Archer on a 20 yard pass making the score 18-12, before Brock Holmes would get in on the action punching one in from the one yard line. With a 24-12 lead, things seemed to be going good for the Jays until Cole Ruby scored the next two touchdowns – once in the third quarter, Ruby with a nine yard run, and once in the fourth quarter on a two-yard score giving Worth County the lead once again, 24-28. Defensively, the Jays would suffer another blow to their lineup as sophomore Blaise Krogen would get injured, ultimately finding out he had broken his leg in the first half of the game. With 6:57 left on the clock, Rock Port would start their final scoring drive of the game on their own 35 yard line. This drive consisted of 11 plays with runs by Brock Holmes and receptions by Jack Meyerkorth. Rock Port managed to run the clock down to 2:57 when Holmes would stop on purpose one yard before the goal line. This move allowed the Jays to continue to run the time off the clock forcing Worth County to burn the remainder of their timeouts. With 1:59 remaining, running back Brock Holmes would score the Jays’ final touchdown to give the Jays the lead 32-28. Now with less than two minutes to go, Worth County, who had success moving the ball the second half, had more than enough time to move the ball down the field. With quick passes and getting out of bounds to stop the clock, Worth County was able to take the ball to midfield before the Jays’ defense would get a big stop on a fourth and long giving Rock Port the ball with 1:06 remaining on the clock. The Jays won the game 32 to 28. They will have to regroup this next week as they travel to Princeton.