Sunday, Nov. 15, 2009

Unity sends Nashville to the sideline with 34-21 win

Rockets quarterback passes for 226 yards and runs for four touchdowns

NASHVILLE -- Tolono Unity quarterback Dylan Sturgeon made sure the Nashville Hornets magical postseason ride ended Saturday in the quarterfinals of the Class 3A playoffs.

A 6-foot-4 200-pound senior, Sturgeon scored four touchdowns and added a 54-yard scoring strike to junior wide receiver Dustin Jolley as the Rockets held off the Hornets 34-21 at Nashville High School.

Still riding the high of a double-overtime win over Auburn in the second round, the Hornets (7-5) trailed just 20-14 at halftime after junior Tyler Meyer returned a kickoff 79 yards and scored on a 3-yard run in the final minute of the second quarter.

But on the opening possession of the second half, Unity marched 65 yards on 10 plays for a touchdown to regain the momentum with a 28-14 lead.

Sturgeon, who threw for 226 yards, highlighted the drive with a 32-yard pass completion to Seth Gooch before scoring his third touchdown of the game, this time from 13 yards out.

Sturgeon also scored on runs of 4, 1 and 9 yards as he led the Rockets (12-0) into a semifinal against Greenville next week.

But it was the arm of Sturgeon which really hurt the Hornets as he connected on four completions of 30 yards or more.

"The last few weeks we haven't had to throw the ball too much because we've been able to do some other things well," Rockets coach Scott Hamilton said. "But we knew coming in that Nashville's size would be a bother to us. Their defensive tackle and defensive end on the strong side were more than we could handle.

"But when they brought their defensive backs up to help with the run game, we were able to get some deep balls behind them for a few big plays. We have some good athletes, who when we get in one-on-one coverage situations are tough to handle."

Making their 16th straight playoff appearance, the Rockets found themselves in trouble early.

On the third play from scrimmage, Meyer ran around left end up the sideline for a 67-yard touchdown, giving Nashville a 7-0 lead.

The lead proved to be short lived as four plays later, Sturgeon connected with Gooch on a 50-yard pass play, putting the ball at the Nashville 4-yard line.

Sturgeon scored on the next play and when the Rockets converted on the 2-point conversion, they had the lead for good at 8-7.

"I thought we did an excellent job. It was his (Sturgeon's) arm which beat us today. They completed almost every one of their passes and while I thought we'd do a better job on that, they have some excellent receivers," Nashville coach Matt Gajewski said. "It's tough when your defensive backs have to come up to stop the run and your opponent goes with the play-action passes.

"You're a half a step behind and they beat us with some big pass plays."

Nashville also moved the ball well all day.

Deep in Rockets territory several times, the Hornets couldn't take advantage of their chances.

"We were inside the 10-yard line three times and didn't score," Gajewski said. "We had a couple of penalties which pushed us back, but we had some good drives and just kind of fell short."

The Rockets looked like they were in complete command after Sturgeon connected with Jolley with 1:28 left in the second quarter for a 20-7 lead.

But when Meyer ran the kickoff back inside the 10-yard line and then scored, Nashville had hope, trailing 20-14 at halftime.

"That return was a killer," Hamilton said. "I thought we had the momentum and in the blink of an eye they are within six points and have a great life at halftime.

"Give credit to our kids though. They came right back out and went down and scored. That was the drive of the game as far as I'm concerned."