Stanwood relies on the ‘Rock’

EVERETT -Stanwood’s bid to stay between the ditches on the road to the playoffs was bound to get a little Rocky.

The offensive show of Jon Rockstad and smashmouth defense sparked Stanwood to a 14-0 Western Conference North Division victory over Cascade Friday night at Everett Memorial Stadium.

Rockstad rushed for 126 yards, scored on a 30-yard touchdown run, ran in the conversion and kicked two field goals as Stanwood improved its division record to 3-1 (3-2 overall).

Cascade’s Homecoming celebration was tainted as the Bruins fell precariously close to elimination from the playoff chase with a 1-2 division mark (2-3 overall).

“Rocky always runs hard for us,” Stanwood coach Dick Abrams said. “Our kids really played hard on defense. It wasn’t just one or two guys, it was the whole team.”

Locked in a 3-0 struggle, the game turned late in the third quarter when the Stanwood line blew open big holes for the speedy Rockstad. He had runs of 6, 5, 15, 8, 18 and 8 yards as the Spartans drove from their own 35-yard line to the Cascade 6.

The defense stiffened and on third down Cascade’s Blake Snow saved a touchdown by knocking away a Richard Abrams pass to the back of the end zone. Stanwood settled for Rockstad’s 23-yard field goal, his second, to go ahead 6-0 with 3:03 remaining in the third quarter.

On the second play after the kickoff, the Spartans’ Mike Evans intercepted a Snow pass at the Cascade 40 and returned the ball to the 30.

On the next play, Rockstad burst through the middle and ran for a touchdown with 2:05 left in the quarter. Rockstad ran in the two-point conversion giving Stanwood a 14-0 lead.

Stanwood turned away two Cascade scoring threats in the first half.

Late in the first quarter the Bruins used 11 plays, including Snow passes to Jacob Weinmann and Travis Miles, to drive from their 30 to the Stanwood 5.

Two running plays netted zero yards. On third down Chris Sains knocked down a pass destined for Patrick Hebner in the end zone. On fourth down the swarming Spartans chased the zigzagging Snow all over the field before sacking him at the 16.

After Stanwood took over on downs, Rockstad had a 29-yard pass reception and a 16-yard run during a 13-play drive that finally stalled at the Cascade 3. Rockstad booted a 20-yard field goal to give the Spartans a 3-0 lead with 37 seconds left in the half.

Snow’s 30-yard pass completion to Kevin Battenfield and a pass interference penalty had Cascade threatening in the final seconds of the half. Sains batted away a pass intended for Battenfield in the end zone to snuff the Bruin threat.

“Our defense really showed what it’s made of tonight,” said Rockstad who helped out with towering punts of 31, 49, 41 and 38 yards.

Abrams noted his team had multiple heroes. Darin Schwarze shined at linebacker. He also stepped in at tailback after starter Brett Geiger was injured in the first quarter and rushed for 42 hard-nosed yards on 12 carries.

“He just ran his heart out and gave it his all on defense too,” Abrams said.

Other standouts included Tate Summers who had a fumble recovery and Josh Aufai who intercepted a pass. Evans and Brandon Bianchi combined on a key fourth-quarter tackle for a loss.