Indians' offense holds off 'Cats

LEXINGTON – Fort Defiance went for the kill on Friday, defeating Rockbridge 48-13 with quarterback Michael Cook leading the way in the two teams’ first Southern Valley District game of the season.

“He [Cook] just played one heck of a ball game,” said Fort Defiance coach Dan Rolfe. “He controlled the game and made all of the right decisions and reads.”

The first touchdown for the Indians came at the end of the first quarter. Fort worked its way from midfield with running back Nate Hill doing most of the carrying, but tight end Aaron McMillion ran it into the end zone. A two-point conversion from Chris Huffman put the Indians up 8-0.

Fort came out in the second quarter to gain another touchdown early off of a Wildcat fumble. Jacob Diehl recovered the ball for the Indians and ran it 70 yards into the zone. With the extra point being no good, Fort led 14-0.

Rockbridge was able to cut the score in half within the next few minutes with a halfback option pass to Zack Keen from midfield for a touchdown. The glory for the Wildcats didn’t last for long though, when with just over two minutes on the clock the Indians scored yet another touchdown, this one coming from Dakota Canipe. The teams went into the break with Fort leading 21-7.

“The most important part of this game is that we executed on offense,” Rolfe said.

The Indians came out of the break and turned the ball over immediately, but redeemed themselves with a quick interception, eventually taking the ball into the end zone from Canipe’s one-yard run. Another two-point conversion put the Indians up 29-7.

Rockbridge wasn’t going to lie down just yet, as the Wildcats scored their second, and last, touchdown off another halfback option pass to Keen, putting the score at 29-13.

“We were a little slow at first on defense,” Rolfe said. “But we were able to make some adjustments and pick it up.”

The Indians retaliated quickly enough when the quarterback, Cook, singlehandedly made a 69-yard touchdown run on the first play, hiking the score up to 36-13.

Fort was able to come out and score two more touchdowns in the final quarter, one coming from Ricky Mercer and the last from Ernesto Sanchez.

“Last week we lost a tough game that could have gone either way,” Rolfe said. “I told the guys all week that you can’t think about the past. They came out here and did it tonight.”

The Indians (2-1, 1-0 Southern Valley) travel to Turner Ashby while the Wildcats head to Broadway.