–Friday night lights burn bright at Reynolds after victory
29 September 2007On the first two possessions of the game, points were scored by both teams.
After receiving the football, it only took 10 plays for the Rockets to put the first 6 points on the scoreboard on a Darius Spencer 13 yard scamper. The point after was good making the score 7-0. The Rockets had 20 yards in penalties during their first possession. 
REYNOLDS - September 28, 2007 - On Friday night the Cougars of Alexander Central (2-4) came to pay a visit to the Rockets of A.C. Reynolds (3-2) . A brisk night soon turned into a hot time as the “Friday night lights” were turned on. Alexander Central came into the contest with 1,245 yards passing and 1,614 total yards offense. The high flying Cougars were hoping for an upset in this important conference battle as they kicked off to the Rockets. The Cougars chose to defend the south goal.
On their possession, Alexander Central began an impressive air attack against the Reynolds secondary. After 16 plays the Cougars had to settle for a field goal by Kyle Bumgarner making the score 7-3.
Reynolds’ Darius Spencer returned the football to his own 44 yard line on the kickoff. He continued to eat up the defense of the Cougars on runs and passes. Five plays later Spencer struck pay dirt on an 18 Yard run with just 49 seconds left in the first quarter. A missed extra point gave the Rockets a lead of 13-3.
The Cougars started on their own 34 yard line. On the third play of the possession, lightning struck!
Josh Russell hit Dale Webb with a 60 yard touchdown pass. Webb found himself all alone with 10 yards between himself and the Rocket secondary, catching the perfectly thrown pass. With the point after, the Cougars had closed the score to 13-10.
On the Rockets next possession Reynolds’ quarterback Alexander Wall took a helmet to the leg and had to leave the game. Paul Wright took over for the Rocket’s QB and led the them down the field; however they failed on a fourth and 7 and turned the ball over back to the Cougars.
The Cougars took over on the Rocket 20 yard line and the Cougar’s offense and penalties on the Rocket defense gave Alexander Central a stellar opportunity to score. However a fumble, recovered by the Rockets’ John Thomas, was the downfall of the drive.
Reynolds took advantage of the turnover and with 8 seconds left in the first half, Wright found Spencer on a 44 yard pass for a Rocket touchdown. At this point the Rockets went for the two point conversion and scored making the score at halftime 21-10.
The second half of this contest was filled with mishaps and penalties by both teams. 
The first score in the second half occurred on a Russell to Byron Mayes pass for the Cougars with 3:14 left in the quarter. Kyle Bumgarner added the point after, bringing the score to 21-17. Thiat was as close as the Cougars would get in the rest of the contest.
The Rockets had points taken off the board on their next possession as they were called for procedure after a 13 yard run by Spencer that ended up to be another AC Reynolds touchdown. At this point the Cougar defense stiffened and instead of touchdown, the Rockets turned the ball over on a fourth and four as the Cougars’ D.J. Fortner sacked Wright for a loss.
The final score of the game came with 7:12 left on the clock in the fourth quarter. Once again Darius Spencer sliced through the Cougar defense and scored on a 17 yard bolt. The point after was missed and the score was 27-17.
The real difference in the second half was the defense for the Rockets. The Cabral brothers, Tony and Rudy, dominated the offense of the Cougars. Athan Little and Jacob Mau also came up big for the Rockets with outstanding defensive plays.
Rudy Cabral has to be one of the most instense and exciting players on the field, and he reminds you of a Dick Butkus or a Mike Singletary, both of whom played for the Chicago Bears. His excitement got the better of him in the second half though, as he must have thought that he was in the NFL after a sack of Russell, because he did a brief celebration and got flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct
Overall, the game was filled with mistakes by both teams. Reynolds had 125 yards in penalties, while the Cougars got flagged for 40 yards in penalties.
The human highlight of the night for the Rockets had to be the play of Spencer, as he carried the ball 28 times gaining 173 yards with three rushing touchdowns and one receiving touchdown.
Wright, after entering the game for the injured Alexander Wall, answered the call with a very good outing at quarterback for Reynolds.
Once again, the passing of the Cougar offense showed signs of excellence. Russell proved why he is on of the premier players in the country as he completed both short and long passes against a good Rocket secondary. Russell ended the game with 264 yards passing. Byron Mayes, Kori Kinnaird, Josh Montleth, and Parks Harrington all made catches at crucial times for the Cougars.
The Rockets play at home again next Friday, entertaining Freedom on Homecoming night.
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