By Tom Nader

Publisher and Editor

Rootstown’s coaching staff made a decision on Tuesday to establish a backup plan for itself.

Peeking at the weather forecast for Friday’s matchup in Mantua against the Crestwood Red Devils, head coach Tom Hannan and offensive coordinator Alan Vanderink noticed that the chance for rain was all but inevitable.

It set in motion alternate preparations for a ground-heavy attack if the Rovers needed to turn to it.

And they did.

Heavy and steady rain fell throughout Friday’s Chagrin Valley Conference Valley Division showdown at Jack Lambert Stadium, with the Rovers leaning heavily on senior quarterback Blake Mullaly as the offensive catalyst in a 17-7 victory.

Mullaly rushed for 259 yards on 29 carries, scored both of the Rovers’ touchdowns — on runs of 9 and 33 yards — kicked both extra points and also booted a 37-yard field goal to account for all of Rootstown’s points.

From the start, Vanderink had intentions to make Mullaly a focal point to the Rovers’ offense on Friday, but in a different capacity than what eventually played out in the team’s win.

“Our original plan, if the weather was going to be nice, if it was going to be dry, was going to throw the ball a lot tonight,” Hannan said. “Obviously, the weather changed and that was something I have to give credit to Alan for, because he was proactive in preparing for us for the possibility of rain. At that point, our plan was to try to keep the ball in our best athlete’s hands as many times as we could.”

The referenced plan put the ball in Mullaly’s hands for career highs of 29 carries and 259 yards, but was also the product of an offensive line that continually won the line of scrimmage and also the ability of Mullaly to hold onto the ball in difficult conditions.

“Our offensive line did a great job tonight. They got the push that we needed,” Hannan said. “With Blake carrying the ball so much, we absolutely trust the ball to be in his hands and that he will protect it. We also have a ton of trust in our center Luke Rogan and the snaps that he will deliver to Blake.”

After a scoreless first quarter, it was Crestwood that got on the board first.

Jumpstarted by a 40-yard punt return by Chris Mory, the Devils (2-7, 2-4 CVC) found their footing deep in Rootstown’s territory with a 6-yard run by Michael Kalista and a 5-yard run by Xavier Beverly. The latter of which ended with a facemask penalty on the Rovers that moved the ball all the way to the 11.

On the next play, Kalista sloshed through the mud to cross the goal line. Owen Overfield connected on the point-after to give Crestwood a 7-0 lead at the 10:35 mark of the second quarter.

On the ensuing kickoff, Rootstown successfully handled an onside attempt that set it up in good field position at its own 47. Two plays later, the Mullaly had his first breakout run of the night, a 41-yard burst that was created off an option fake to a Jet Sweep action that Mullaly pulled back and kept. Two plays after that, Mullaly scored the first of his two touchdowns on a designed QB draw that was well blocked that tied the score at 7-7 with 7:15 on the clock.

Rootstown and Crestwood traded possessions, then the Rovers got the ball back at their own 48 with 41 seconds before halftime.

A couple of big runs by Mullaly (10 yards and 22 yards) took the Rovers to the 20-yard line and within range for a field-goal attempt for Mullaly.

As time expired on the first half, he nailed a line-drive kick through the uprights from 37 yards out to give the Rovers (4-5, 2-4 CVC) a 10-7 lead.

“I was a little worried about my footing,” said Mullaly, referencing the distance of the kick and subpar field conditions. “I knew I had to be careful not to slip, but I also knew I had to get power on the kick.”

Hannan was impressed with the entire operation of the kick.

“That was a big play for us,” Hannan said. “To get ourselves into position for the kick, with the distance of the kick, the field conditions and everyone involved that executed. We just moved a new player, Carson Saltsman, to be our new long-snapper, and he did great. Our holder, Max McEwuen, is as sure-handed as anyone and he has been Blake’s holder forever, and then Blake to nail the kick. It was just a great job overall.”

Ultimately, it proved to be the game-winner, but the Rovers added an insurance touchdown in the third quarter, with Mullaly finishing off the opening drive of the second half with a 33-yard run into the end zone.

It was part of a simplified offensive approach for the Rovers that included 21 second-half offensive plays and all 21 were runs. Sixteen of those runs were by Mullaly, who accounted for 265 (259 rushing, 6 passing) of the Rovers’ 281 yards of total offense (94 percent).

Crestwood’s defense came up with three big stops in the third and fourth quarters, but the Devils’ offense could never get on track to cut into their two-score deficit.

Crestwood rushed for 78 yards on 28 carries and totaled just 92 yards of offense in the game.

Penalties hurt both teams, with Crestwood being flagged 10 times for 83 yards and Rootstown 10 times for 90 yards.