College Football: Ridgewater opens playoffs in Rochester
This is a rematch of Week 7, won 47-15 by Rochester on the Jackets' home turf. The Warriors held their own in the first half but got a 27-0 buzz cut coming out of the halftime break. Rochester has averaged 415 yards per game of offense compared to 289 by Ridge. Defensively, the Jackets have permitted 146 yards per game to the Warriors' 217.
The Warriors are without freshman left guard Cody Rosenau, a sometimes starter, who tore his MCL during practice this week. Tyler Tabatt, starting tight end, is out with concussion. Ridgewater fell to Central Lakes 27-7 to finish third in the MCAC South. Coach Rob Baumgarn thought the Warriors' defense played a strong game making a good Raiders team work hard for every score. He's was not pleased with the effort of the offense in the second half. "I thought the guys quit on each other. They just gave up when we got down 20-0." A couple of bright spots are the hard running of 6-foot-1, 215-pound freshman Martell Baker. He's averaging 5.3 yards per lug in 115 snaps with 8 TDs. Sophomore defensive back Mike Wilson had a fine pick against Central Lakes giving him three for the season tying with Hunter Smith for the team lead. What will it take for an upset in Doctorville? Quite a bit, but possible, according to the head coach: "We know we can play with them. But we need to play all four quarters, go mistake free and not permit the big plays." The Warriors appear out for revenge. Several this week wore T-shirts emblazoned with a reminder of the earlier outcome (47-15) and others stating, in so many words, it's time to even the score.
