Fergus Falls rallies in fourth quarter to stun No. 3 RCTC

Sep. 30—ROCHESTER — It's gut check time for the Rochester Community and Technical College football team.

The Yellowjackets took a three-game winning streak and the No. 3 ranking in the NJCAA Divison III national poll into Saturday's home game against Minnesota State-Fergus Falls. But a lot of the good will the Yellowjackets had built during the season escaped, just as a victory did against Fergus Falls.

The Spartans rallied in the fourth quarter to pull out a 32-29 over RCTC. Fergus Falls scored the winning touchdown with just 1:35 to play when KJ Cooper hit Marquan Tucker with a 13-yard touchdown pass on a fourth-and-11 play. It was the third TD hookup of the game between Cooper and Tucker.

"It was very frustrating," RCTC coach Terrance Isaac Sr. said. "I think for the last couple of weeks we've just come out slow and it finally caught up to us. We have to match the other team's intensity and we didn't do that today."

RCTC nearly sealed the win on third down prior to Fergus Falls' game-winning touchdown, but a possible interception bounced off a Yellowjackets defender in the end zone.

"We should have executed, we should have gotten off the field earlier," RCTC safety JahQuii Roberts said.

The Yellowjackets had a final chance to pull out a win at the end of the game. They moved to the Fergus Falls 36 with 40 seconds to play but couldn't convert on a fourth-and-2 as the Spartans sealed the victory.

"Very, very, very (frustrating) because at the end of the day we know we're better than this," RCTC quarterback Devin Watson said. "With the ups and the downs, we have to take the downs and turn them into ups next week."

Watson blamed himself for missing a throw on fourth down that could have extended the final drive.

A slow start by the Yellowjackets resulted in Fergus Falls taking a 17-3 lead at the half.

"We know we're better than that," Watson said. "We know we have to come out firing on all cylinders right from the start."

RCTC played a stellar third quarter. The Yellowjackets scored three touchdowns and added a safety in the quarter to take a 26-17 lead. Fergus Falls then went on a 15-3 scoring run in the fourth quarter to pull out the victory.

"I liked the way we rallied back, being down 17-3," Isaac Sr. said. "... But we have to know that every game we play, we're going to get the opponent's best. And we just didn't do a good job of keeping a lead when we had it."

Watson, who threw a touchdown pass and had a short TD run in the game, said the Yellowjackets looked a bit lethargic during the week.

"We had a bad week (of practice) and it showed," he said.

The Yellowjackets did make a number of big plays on both sides of the ball, but they also left plays on the field. Martell Williams recovered a fumble at the Fergus Falls 1 to set up a touchdown in the third quarter.

RCTC's defense twice stopped Fergus Falls inside their own territory on downs in the third quarter to set up touchdowns. The Spartans also had a bad snap which resulted in a safety.

Roberts had an interception in the third quarter and blocked a field goal and had a long return in the fourth to set up a field goal, which gave RCTC a 29-24 lead.

"We all made plays, but we didn't finish it out," Roberts said.

The Yellowjackets now have to regroup for the final two games of the regular season as they jockey for seedings in the MCAC state playoffs. RCTC is 4-2 overall and 3-1 in league play and in a three-way tie for second, a game behind North Dakota State College of Science.

Roberts said the Yellowjackets have to have better practices during the week to get better.

"We have to use it as motivation," he said of the loss. "We can't use it as a crutch, we have to use it as motivation."

"It starts with me," Isaac Sr. said. "I have to do a better job of getting these guys ready. I take responsibility for that; I have to do a better job."

RCTC will play at North Dakota State College of Science (4-0 in league play) at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 7.

Minnesota State-Fergus Falls 32, RCTC 29

Minnesota State-Fergus Falls 7-10-0-15 — 32

RCTC 3-0-23-3 — 29

FIRST QUARTER

RCTC — Rodrigo Castaneda 44 field goal, 7:47.

Fergus Falls — KJ Cooper 13 run (Jaydon Manteufel kick), 4:59.

SECOND QUARTER

Fergus Falls — Manteufel 39 field goal, 3:50.

Fergus Falls — Marquan Tucker 50 pass from Cooper (Manteufel kick), 1:28.

THIRD QUARTER

RCTC — Devin Watson 1 run (Castaneda kick), 12:44.

RCTC — Caleb Waldron 6 pass from Watson (Castaneda kick), 5:52.

RCTC — Brae'ton Vann 3 run (Castaneda kick), 0:46.

RCTC — Safety, Fergus Falls QB kicked ball out of end zone, 0:35.

FOURTH QUARTER

Fergus Falls — Tucker 12 pass from Cooper (Manteufel kick), 14:12.

RCTC — Castaneda 23 field goal, 7:12.

Fergus Falls — Tucker 13 pass from Cooper (Ian Stanton pass from Cooper), 1:35.

TEAM STATISTICS

Fergus Falls — RCTC

First downs 12 — 16

Total net yards 261 — 372

Rushing yards 35-7 — 41-173

Passing yards 254 — 199

Pass att-comp.-int. 14-23-1 — 14-30-0

Fumbles lost 2-2 — 3-1

Penalties yards 5-59 — 10-96

Punts/ave. 2-31.0 — 2-39.5

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing

Fergus Falls — Rashod Madden 12-27, Nafis Smith 7-25, KJ Cooper 13-(-7), Team 3-(-38). RCTC — Micha Hobin 13-81, Raphael Manning 6-31, Brae'ton Vann 5-21, Devin Watson 10-18, Santos Aguirre 3-17, Jaden Hall 2-4, Jaylen Gardner 1-3, Caleb Waldron 1-(-2).

Passing

Fergus Falls — KJ Cooper 14 completions, 23 attempts, 1 interception, 3 touchdowns, 254 yards. RCTC — Devin Watson 14-29-0-1, 199 yards; Brady Walsh 0-1-0-0, 0 yards.

Receiving

Fergus Falls — Marquan Tuckner 5-103, Ian Stanton 3-27, Rashad Madden 2-65, JC Johnson 2-41, Cristino Rivera 1-10, Jamazae Wilson 1-8. RCTC — Jairrus Nicholson 3-51, Will Dayton 3-42, Brady Walsh 3-17, Jakson Hart 2-33, Brae'ton Vann 1-39, Terrence Isaac Jr. 1-11, Caleb Waldron 1-6.

Missed field goals: RCTC, Rodrigo Castaneda 42 WL, 45 WR.