By Tom Nader

Publisher and Editor

It requires precise execution and attention to details to maximize the potential of a multiple-spread option offense.

Through the first four weeks of the 2022 season, the Streetsboro Rockets had moved the ball and they had scored points, but there was a crispness that was missing from head coach Pete Thompson’s eyes.

In preparation leading up to Friday’s home matchup with Ravenna, Thompson and his staff pulled back the playbook a little bit, halted some wrinkles that will be installed in the coming weeks and chose to challenge their players to clean up a core set of plays.

The result was the cleanest offensive execution of the season in a commanding 45-7 Metro Athletic Conference victory over the visiting Ravens at Quinn Field at Rockets Stadium in Streetsboro.

“We gave our kids our most basic gameplan of the year and got on them about it,” Thompson said. “We told them that it was time for them to hone in on the details. We told them we had installed enough offense, for right now, and it was time to work on perfecting what we had.”

The results were staggering, with the Rockets freely spreading the ball to a variety of dangerous ball-carriers and disguising options that led to 291 yards rushing, with 208 of those coming in the first half before a quickly played, running-clock aided second half.

The ground attack featured Cohen Klimak (11 rushes, 80 yards), Colby Benjamin (10-68) and Preston Hopperton (11-55).

“We practiced really hard this week, and we really ramped up the physicality,” Thompson said. “We challenged our running backs to run with aggression, and tonight I thought they ran with aggression and really moved the chains. It was not all on them, though, you have to give credit to our offensive line, too. You don’t run for that many yards in a game and not have a great night from the line. They were tremendous tonight.”

True to form, the running game consistently set up some chunk passing plays, catching the Ravens’ defenders looking in at the backfield, with quarterback Benjamin completing 7-of-12 passes for 134 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

His first scoring pass was the Rockets’ first touchdown of the night and also the third offensive play for Streetsboro, which improved to 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the MAC.

Benjamin stepped into a throw that he launched 41 yards to the end zone for Hopperton who leapt backwards as he caught and secured the ball for a score less than 2 minutes into the game (10:54).

It was the first of four scores for Hopperton on the night.

He pushed Streetsboro’s lead out to 14-0 on a 4-yard run with 4:27 on the first-quarter clock. Dom Incorvati booted the extra points on both scores and finished the night a perfect 6-for-6, while also adding a 33-yard field goal as time expired to end the first half.

After Ravenna’s only score, which was a 3-yard rush by Pavel Henderson, appeared to put the Ravens back into the game, the Rockets quickly erased that thought.

Streetsboro scored 24 unanswered points to end the first half: A 9-yard pass from Benjamin to Jackson Gula, a pair of 1-yard dives by Hopperton and Incorvati’s half-ending field goal.

The scoring burst pushed the Rockets’ lead out to 38-7 at halftime.

Gula added his second score of the night, busting through a middle-seam midway through the fourth quarter for a 14-yard run.

The win was not all about the offense for Streetsboro, though.

It was as complete of a victory as a team could hope for.

Defensively, the Rockets shut down a Ravens’ offense, which has dangerous game-breaking players, to 169 total yards (52 on the ground and 117 in the air) — with 72 total yards coming in the first quarter alone to show the Rockets’ defensive domination over the game’s final three quarters.

On special teams, the Rockets blocked a pair of punts (Carter Baab and Joey Fedor) and also recovered an onside kick.

As much as Thompson said his team focused on offensive details, they put an even higher emphasis on defense this week.

“Honestly, defense was our main focus for the week. We have been really inconsistent there,” Thompson said. “We had a tough second half last week in a good, competitive game last week at Norton. We changed our entire practice schedule to prepare defensively and our guys stepped up tonight.”

Ravenna head coach Joe Callihan also showed appreciation for the level of execution his Ravens tried to overcome.

“Streetsboro has a lot of really, really talented kids and their scheme starts with (Preston Hopperton). He is a real player. They send a player in motion, then they come back around the other direction — and tonight they executed very well,” Callihan said.

The Ravens’ first-year coach said his team will regroup from the loss and move on to focus on next week’s matchup with Field.

“It is real important that our guys look inside themselves to reflect on what they can do to get us in the best possible position for a great week in practice. That is exactly what myself and all of our coaches are going to do. We have to be ready to compete against Field,” Callihan said.