Rockets romp in opener

Richmond-Burton's Brandon Kinsella runs for the Rockets' third touchdown of the game against Oregon on Friday at Richmond. (Amanda Schwengel - aschwengel@nwherald.com)

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RICHMOND – Talk about hitting the ground running.

Richmond-Burton rushed for 392 yards and four touchdowns Friday in a 34-8 win against Oregon. Rockets running back Brandon Kinsella led the way with nine carries for 154 yards and two touchdowns, including a 72-yard score in the third quarter that put the game out of reach.

Jack Dechow added 113 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries for the Rockets (1-0), who led 21-0 by halftime. Ryne Pearson chipped in with 64 yards on seven carries behind a tough offensive line that owned the line of scrimmage for most of the night.

Rockets coach Patrick Elder said he was pleased with the effort.

‘’We’re a run-first football team,’’ Elder said. ‘’We’ve got a young line that needs work and experience, and you can’t coach game experience. I thought we did a nice job tonight with the guys up front.’’

Several players made their starting debuts, Elder said, including James Hill-Male, Zachary Boettjer, Nick Smith, John Flood and Casey Williams.

‘’Those guys are all new starters,’’ Elder said. ‘’I thought they did a nice job opening up holes for our backs, and they did a nice job getting [quarterback Adam Pittser] time to throw the ball.’’

Pittser showed off his leg strength in addition to his arm strength against the Hawks (0-1). He rushed for a 13-yard touchdown on the Rockets’ opening drive, and on the next series he connected with Hill-Male for a seven-yard touchdown pass to complete a 71-yard scoring drive.

The Hawks tallied only 29 total yards in the first half. R-B defenders Travis Jewell and Jacob Sherman teamed up to stuff a Hawks run on 4th and 2 in the second quarter to force a turnover on downs.

The Rockets’ offense took advantage, scoring their third touchdown in as many series thanks to a 10-yard scamper by Kinsella.

Oregon coach John Bothe said R-B was impressive.

‘’I think they’re a fine football team,’’ Bothe said. “I don’t think there’s as much drop off as people think. They lost some great football players and a great class, but this is a very solid football team.’’

Yet parts of R-B remained a work in progress, Elder said. The Rockets defense softened in the second half, allowing a 1-yard touchdown run by Jacob Miller, and penalties stunted the offense’s progress.

‘’We should be a team that improves as the year goes on,’’ Elder said. ‘’like I said, you can’t replace game experience. We’ve got one under our belt.’’