By Greg Chrapek
WKTV Contributor
Improvement is the name of the game for the Kelloggsville football team this season and after the first game the Rockets are poised to blast off into the winning column.
The Rockets, who return an experienced core of players from last year’s squad, opened the season dropping a 38-22 decision at Grant. Kelloggsville looks to break into the win column this Friday when it hosts Battle Creek Pennfield.
The Rockets fell behind early in the opener at Grant, but came on strong during the second half.
“We fumbled the opening kickoff and at the half we were down 24-0,” Kelloggsville Coach Brandon Branch said. “We rallied back from there and tried to make a game out of it. The kids kept fighting and they made a game out of it in the second half.”
Kelloggsville scored three touchdowns in the second half as it cut into the Grant lead. Cameron Dunbar scored a pair of touchdowns for the Rockets on runs of three and four yards and Danyel White added a nine-yard touchdown run.
“We started out the game like a team that didn’t have a good week of practice,” Branch said. “We had an interesting week of practice with the heat and I think that set us back in the first half. We were stagnant in the first half. I was not pleased with the first half, but then we played a lot better in the second half. We definitely battled them and didn’t give up.”
Kelloggsville was led on offense by Dunbar who is the Rocket quarterback. Dunbar completed 11-of-17 passes for 186 yards with no interceptions and a long pass of 48 yards. Dunbar also rushed for 36 yards on 11 carries and two touchdowns.
White finished with 13 yards rushing and a touchdown.
Paul Shannon led the Rockets in receiving with four receptions for 84 yards, while Jaylen Phillips hauled in two passes for 57 yards.
On defense, the Rockets were led by linebackers Terrell Jones and Isaak Kowel and the defensive line rotation of Myrece Moore, Prince Baraka, Joaquin Hill, Elijah McKinney, Zane Hendricks, Alberto Estrada, Andrew Bacon and Gliore Bahome.
“Our defensive line played pretty physical across the front,” Branch said. “Our linebackers Terrell and Isaak also had pretty good games.”
The Rockets are looking for the strong effort in the second half against Grant to carry over into this week’s game against Pennfield. The game is a rematch of last year’s game in week eight that saw Pennfield win.
“We played them last year and it was tied at the half,” Branch said. “They (Pennfield) pulled away in the second half. They had some big kids last year and a pretty good running back. We expect a tough game, but we are going to line up and play football and be physical.”
Kelloggsville entered the new season with a more experienced roster.
“We have a pretty even split between seniors and juniors,” Branch said. “We have a fairly experienced team and that is nice to have. We have five or six guys who have three years of varsity experience. We also have two or three juniors who have two years of varsity experience.”
Along with experience, this year’s team is more physical on both sides of the football.
“We are a more physical team than in the past,” Branch said. “I want us to be the more physical team when we play on Friday. Our depth is also going to help us out. We have 20 guys who are going to play a lot. I like our depth and physicality and we are also pretty fast across the board. We have above average team speed.”
Offensively, the Rockets look to have a balanced attack with Dunbar at quarterback and a strong group of running backs.
“Cameron is an athletic quarterback,” Branch said. “He can pass when he sees the opportunity and he also does a good job of making his reads and finding the open guy.”
On defense, the Rockets are led by their linebackers.
“Terrell is a tough linebacker in the middle that likes to hit and get after it,” Branch said. “Isaak does a good job of setting the edge and likes to get physical.”
Overall, Branch likes the direction the team is headed in.
“We definitely had a much better offseason,” Branch said. “We have a lot of guys who played key roles for us back this year. I like the progress we are making.”
