Week 7 | Stockton vs Polo
Polo -
Stockton and Polo have revived a heated rivalry over recent years, with both teams taking their shots at each other while sharing and splitting conference titles. This year, both teams were looking for playoff positioning, as both should find themselves in the field of 32, and it took two days to finish this one as a lighting delay Friday night postponed it to a Saturday finish.
Stockton would get on the board early in the game, as Garrett Buske found Chase Rowe from 28 yards out to give Stockton an 8-0 lead after Colin Dvorak's run for the two point conversion was good with 6:50 to go in the 1st quarter.
The remainder of the 1st half saw both defenses stand tall, but Stockton dominated the time of possession, and then lightning struck and delayed the game. They attempted to restart the game, but a second delay after the 3rd quarter began put the game in delay until Saturday with Stockton hanging on to the 8-0 lead.
Once play resumed on Saturday, Stockton continued to dominate the game on both sides of the ball, as they held Polo to just 10 yards rushing for the game, along with only allowing 10 completions.
With 3:46 remaining in the 3rd quarter, it was Dvorak who extend the lead on a 25 yard TD run, and after the two point attempt was no good, the Blackhawks had the lead 14-0. In the 4th quarter, Chase Rowe would add another TD, as he rushed in from 30 yards out, and another failed two point attempt gave Stockton the lead 20-0 with 7:22 to play, but the Marcos couldn't come up with anything against the stingy Stockton defense, and that score would become the final.
For the day, Stockton held Polo to just 10 yards rushing and 123 yards passing, while only allowing Polo 39 total offensive plays to their own 59. With the win, Stockton also became playoff-eligible, and they will look to clinch a playoff berth over the next two weeks. Polo is still in playoff contention, but are in a must win situation coming up next week against AFC.
Colin Dvorak would lead the charge with 39 attempts for 205 yards and 1 score. Chase Rowe would pitch in with 51 yards rushing on 11 attempts, and 1 reception for 28 yards, while scoring 2 TDs on the day. Drew McGovern had a huge day on both sides of the ball, as helped open holes up for the Stockton rushing attack, and on defense he came up with 9 tackles, 2 sacks, and 3.5 tackles for a loss.
For Polo, they were led by Braiden Soltow who went 10-20 passing for 123 yards. Ethan Phillips was Soltow's primary target as he hauled in 5 receptions for 72 yards.
Up Next:
Stockton (5-2) @ Aquin (4-3)
Polo (4-3) vs AFC (0-7)