Richmond-Burton routs Stillman Valley, extends state-best winning streak to 31 games

RICHMOND – Richmond-Burton fullback Brock Wood can’t remember if he’s caught a touchdown pass before.

He does now.

Wood took a short pass from quarterback Joe Miller, followed his blockers and raced 87 yards for a score on R-B’s third possession Saturday against Stillman Valley. It was one of many big scoring plays for the Rockets, who had four touchdowns on their first six plays in a 56-6 runaway win over Stillman Valley in their Class 4A second-round playoff game.

With the victory, the No. 2-seeded Rockets (11-0) extended their state-best winning streak to 31 games ahead of next week’s quarterfinal at No. 6-seeded Chicago Phillips (9-2), a 48-21 winner over Kewanee. R-B last lost a game in the 2018 semifinals.

As space cleared in front of him, Wood said he was not sure if he would have enough left to make it all the way to the end zone.

“Coach [Mike] Noll put it in the game plan and we knew it was going to be open,” said Wood, who is listed at 6-foot-1 and 215 pounds. “I saw our tight end Jake Nelson lay a really disgusting block on the corner. After that, I was off to the races. I’m not the fastest, but I can run a little bit.

“It might be the only reception I’ve had for a touchdown. I’m not sure.”

R-B rolled up 368 yards by half, scoring on its first six possessions before time ran out on its seventh. The Rockets held a 28-0 lead after the first quarter following a 42-yard touchdown pass from Miller to Landon Jacoby.

At that point, the Rockets had run only six plays, scoring four times and totaling 227 yards.

Miller completed all three of his passes, all in the first half, for 134 yards and three touchdowns. He had a 5-yard score to Zach Smith with 8:27 left in the second quarter, giving the Rockets a 35-0 lead. Tailback Steven Siegel scored from 1 yard out to give the Rockets a 42-0 lead at half.

Miller credited the defense for forcing some quick three-and-outs, which set the stage for R-B’s offense. The Rockets held the Cardinals (8-3) to only 70 yards in the first half, forcing six punts and forcing a turnover-on-downs.

“It puts a lot of pressure on them and that’s when we’re at our best,” Miller said. “When we control the pace of the game, that’s when we feel best. That’s how we won the Sycamore game earlier this year, we controlled the pace.

“I love to see my friends out there doing their thing. We all really play with a lot of excitement and enthusiasm.”

Stillman Valley scored on a 1-yard touchdown run by running back Jory Spain with 2:29 left in the fourth quarter. If not for that score, it would have been R-B’s second shutout of the postseason and fifth of the year.

Miller was 3-of-3 passing with 134 yards and three touchdowns. Brock Wood had 190 total yards (103 rushing, 87 receiving) and two scores, and Landon Jacoby tacked on 77 yards rushing, 42 yards receiving and two TDs. Steven Siegel had 62 yards rushing and a TD.

Toby Quentrall-Quezada (22 yards rushing) and Braxtin Nellessen (33 yards) both had touchdown runs in the second half.

Stillman Valley coach Mike Lalor was impressed with the quick-strike performance of the Rockets and Wood.

“I had a bad feeling if they had their ‘A’ game going, we could be in some trouble,” Lalor said. “It just seemed like they had everything clicking today. They flat out beat us in every aspect possible and that’s what a great team does. They’re definitely a [state title] contender.

“I think Wood is a legit D-I type kid. If you can’t find someway to neutralize him early, he’s just going to wear you down. Everything else was downhill from there.”

Now, the Rockets will get one of their toughest challenges this season against a Phillips team that has state championships as recently as 2015 (4A) and 2017 (5A).

Two years ago, Phillips played up in 7A.

“Year in, year out, they’re a great team,” R-B coach Mike Noll said of facing Phillips. “They’re very talented. They’re very good, so we’ll have our hands full. But we’re excited to be in the quarterfinals.”

Richmond-Burton 56, Stillman Valley 6

Stillman Valley 0 0 0 6 – 6

Richmond-Burton 28 14 7 7 – 56

First quarter

RB–Wood 34 run (Lehn kick), 8:53

RB–Jacoby 49 run (Lehn kick), 7:06

RB–Wood 87 pass from Miller (Lehn kick), 1:28

RB–Jacoby 42 pass from Miller (Lehn kick), 0:13

Second quarter

RB–Smith 5 pass from Miller (Lehn kick), 8:27

RB–Siegel 1 run (Lehn kick), 4:00

Third quarter

RB–Quentrall-Quezada 1 run (Lehn kick), 2:40

Fourth quarter

RB–Nellessen 13 run (Lehn kick), 9:21

SV–Spain 1 run (kick missed), 2:29

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING–Spain 14-49, Henderson 9-11, Needs 4-17, Engel 8-85, Rauman 5-13, Shaw 1-minus 1. Team 3-minus 9. Total: 44-165. Richmond-Burton: Wood 6-103, Siegel 10-62, Jacoby 2-77, Slove 5-34, Saranzak 1-0, Quentrall-Quezada 4-22, Nellessen 6-33. Total: 34-331.

PASSING–Stillman Valley: Engel 0-1-0-0. Richmond-Burton: Miller: 3-3-0-134.

RECEIVING–Stillman Valley: None. Richmond-Burton: Wood 1-87, Jacoby 1-42, Smith 1-5.

TOTAL YARDS: Stillman Valley 165, Richmond-Burton 465