PREP FOOTBALL: Rosewood defense keeps unique streak intact

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on September 2, 2018 3:08 AM

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By RUDY COGGINS

rcoggins@newsargus.com

SEVEN SPRINGS -- Rosewood's defensive unit has developed some well-deserved satisfaction and a little bit of swagger three weeks into the football season.

They've earned the right to brag about it, too.

Opposing teams have encountered an impenetrable barrier against the Eagles, who haven't yielded a rushing touchdown in 12 quarters.

"They're taking pride in being a team that's being hard to run on," RHS head coach Robert Britt said.

Indeed.

Rosewood held Spring Creek to a season-low 46 yards of total offense -- all rushing -- during a 45-0 romp at "The Swamp" on Friday evening.

The Gators couldn't find any chomping room either between the tackles or on the perimeter. They were hit 13 times behind the line of scrimmage, lost two fumbles and had a pass picked by junior defensive back Davien Thompson. Thompson's interception stopped a drive inside the Eagles' 20-yard line.

Spring Creek lost a third lineman in the opening quarter.

Sophomore Albert Tanner suffered a right-ankle injury that further depleted both lines that had already lost two starters within recent days. Sophomore Charles Jackson and senior Miguel Miranda-Henriquez combined to fill the void.

"It was pretty detrimental," SC head coach Daniel Robinson said. "It made us scramble around and try to find the right fit. They caused a lot of our issues just by being so big and physical up front. They fly hard to the football and we're already undersized.

"If we don't sustain those blocks, stuff that happened tonight is going to happen. They're a good football team."

Rosewood wrestled with its own troubles early.

Two fumbles inside four-down territory stopped potential scoring opportunities.

The Eagles didn't waste their third chance.

A bad snap on a punt set up Dhimani Fenty's 13-yard touchdown run. Logan Price added the first of six successful PATs on the night to make it 7-0 with just under three minutes left in the opening quarter.

"We had a hard time getting going," Britt said. "I felt like we weren't as focused as we need to be. We're very lucky that Spring Creek didn't capitalize on mistakes we made early in the game.

"When the defense allows us to use the clock, play field position and get those short fields, you can score. The offense is getting better every week of capitalizing on mistakes other teams make and they're able to produce some big plays."

Fenty delivered his second touchdown of the night -- and seventh of the season -- barely half a minute into the second period. The 15-yard jaunt ignited a 21-point outburst that included a pair of touchdown passes from Will Harris to Jack White that covered 33 and 49 yards. Gator defensive backs Dominique Morse and Javon Newsome helped White on the second TD when they collided and tipped the ball into the 220-pounder's big talons.

Harris threw his third TD pass -- a 36-yard strike to Avante George just 29 seconds after the second-half kickoff. The first-year signal caller ended the night 3-for-3 for 118 yards.

Price booted a 29-yard field goal in the fourth and JV quarterback Rocco Raper directed a 30-yard touchdown drive that ended on George's 24-yard run.