Rocket defense stout in win over Shiocton

Spencer-Columbus built a 17-0 halftime lead against Shiocton on Oct. 15, then held on defensively the rest of the night to win its fifth game of the season and gain some momentum heading into the WIAA playoffs.

Despite picking up fewer than 200 yards of total offense against Shiocton, the Rockets pulled off the 17-6 win with defense and a pair of turnovers.

Spencer-Columbus’ first score of the night came from the defense, as Brock Bennington picked off a Parker Moder pass and took it back to the Rocket end zone for a touchdown. The point-after kick was blocked, but the Rockets had a 6-0 lead midway through the first quarter.

Shortly after getting the ball back, Spencer-Columbus scored again, this time on Bennington’s 13-yard run. He carried in the conversion run for a 13-0 lead.

As if Bennington had not yet found enough ways to score, he added another in the second quarter when he booted a 42-yard field goal for the 17-0 haftime lead.

Spencer-Columbus did give up a 7-yard Cade Stingle touchdown run at the 8:25 mark of the third quarter, but the defense did its job from there to close out the win.

Rocket head coach Jason Gorst said the team relied on something other than its offense for this win.

“We are real proud of the effort tonight,” he said. “We had a stellar game defensively and on special teams. The field goal unit did a great job on Brock’s 42-yard field goal and our punt team flipped the field well. Defensively we contained their offense and executed well.”

Spencer-Columbus had 185 yards of total offense on 46 plays. It ran 40 times for 168 yards, with Bennington carrying 21 times for 117 yards and Will Gorst adding 34 yards on 10 attempts.

Cole Timmler passed six times with two completions to Bennington for 17 yards.

The Rocket defense gave up 265 yards on 55 plays. Shiocton ran 31 times for 146 yards and went to the air 24 times with 11 completions for 119 yards.

Shiocton lost one fumble and threw an interception, while Spencer-Columbus had no turnovers.

Spencer-Columbus earned a #3 seed in its 8-man Division 5 football playoff regional. It will host Saint Croix Falls on Oct. 22 (7 p.m. kickoff) with the winner to get either Westby or Stratford in the second round on Oct. 29.