Rams remain perfect
Gongbay rushes for 239 yards en route to overwhelming Rockville victory
The Rockville football team doesn't mind being overlooked. It happens now and then in Montgomery County, where much bigger schools do battle every week.
But it won't happen in the 2A West Region, where the Rams are putting together a special season of their own.
Junior tailback Crusoe Gongbay rolled to 239 yards and four touchdowns Friday night as the Rams beat visiting Wheaton, 37-14, improving to 6-0. They have now completed and overall swept through the Montgomery 2A/1A Division.
"We might be underdogs, but that's okay," said Rams coach Kevin Bernot. "We can actually make that work for us. If they don't respect us, let's go out and make them respect us."
Wheaton (2-4) seemed impressed. Despite holding Gongbay to an average gain of just 26 yards through his first six carries, the Knights missed a tackle at the line on second down and watched him run 49 yards for the game's first score late in the first quarter. Senior running back Robbie Parker added a 9-yard touchdown run with 3 minutes, 51 seconds left in the half for a 12-0 Rockville lead.
Wheaton got a chance to respond moments later when quarterback Ricardo McLeod found wide receiver K.C. Kreinbihl for a 38-yard pass, giving the Knights first down on Rockville's 31-yard line. Six plays later, McLeod found wide receiver Mac Juniorson in the end zone and halfback Rayshawn Taylor ran in the 2-point conversion, cutting the lead to four less than a minute before halftime.
"We played them tough, right up until the fourth quarter," Wheaton coach Joe Ortega said. "And that's where being young kind of came in. But we're not done. I still believe in these guys."
The Rams delivered their knockout punch by scoring on each of their next four possessions.
Gongbay scored the first two touchdowns of the second half on runs of 19 and 4 yards. The Knights fumbled the kickoff after the latter, and seven plays later, Rockville's Nate Nolasco scored on a 5-yard run. Gongbay's fourth touchdown, a 21-yard scamper, gave Rockville a 29-point lead late in the game.
"We kind of wore them down and took advantage of the opportunities," said Gongbay, who has run for 474 yards and eight touchdowns in the past two weeks.
Added Bernot: "We want to get the ball into his hands. He has great vision and great speed, and can find a hole a lot of people don't find. ... He's one of the best backs I've ever seen."