Rochester Adams football blows by Rochester in crosstown rivalry, 35-0

Ryland Watters was making just his second start at quarterback, but playing in a crosstown rivalry game before a packed house didn’t faze the Rochester Adams sophomore.

“It was better, for sure — I had to get the nerves out the first game. I felt a lot better the second time around,” he said, after leading Adams to a 35-0 thumping of Rochester in an Oakland Activities Association crossover game.

Watters — originally called up late last year as a freshman to fill in for an injury-depleted linebacker corps — looked calm and collected throughout the night.

“Our sophomore quarterback really stepped up tonight and our offensive line blocked better, and we made less mistakes on the offensive side of the ball. They were loading the line on us so we thought the best option was to throw the ball a little bit, and we made plays,” Adams coach Tony Patritto said. “The defense was great last week (in a win over Orchard Lake St. Mary’s) and they were great again tonight.”

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There was no big secret behind Adams’ 27th straight win over their rival.

“We just had to get the ball to our playmakers,” Watters said. “We’ve got good guys — we’ve got Brady (Prieskorn), we’ve got Gavin Ferris, Lachlan (Tillotson), we’ve got Matteo Humbert. We’ve got to get the ball into those guys’ hands and let them work their thing.”

Well, Watters could include himself on that list. (“Gotta stay humble, man,” was his response.) He torched the Falcons by completing 10 of 14 passes for 154 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed 18 times for 101 yards and a fourth-quarter score which set the game into running-clock mode.

And when Watters wasn’t making things happen, he did get the ball to his playmakers. Adams (2-0) methodically found the end zone, scoring on each of their first-half possessions to build a 28-0 lead.

Taking the opening kickoff, Adams marched 80 yards in 12-play drive. Quarterback Ryland Watters ran the ball five times, gaining 33 yards, and completed a pair of passes to tight end Brady Prieskorn for 29 more. Fullback Matteo Humbert scored on a 1-yard plunge 5:27 into the game.

Rochester (0-2) fumbled twice on its opening possession, turning the ball over on the second occurrence as Louis Stevanovski pounced on the loose ball at the Adams 46.

The Highlanders took off on another 12-play scoring drive which followed a similar route: six more rushes by Watters and a completion to Prieskorn to get into the red zone. Drew Heppner ran the final yard to make it 14-0 8:49 before the half.

Although Rochester took better care of the ball from that point on, they couldn’t crack the Adams defense. The Falcons went three-and-out, and Adams capitalized by returning a punt to the 11-yard line. Four plays later, Humbert broke the plane on a 2-yard burst, hiking the lead to three touchdowns.

Adams packed in another score in the waning seconds of the first half. Rochester was hoping to make some headway, but three consecutive tackles for losses by Liam Kania and Prieskorn caused a fourth-and-27 for the Falcons at their 18. A heavy rush forced a bad punt which was downed at the 31 with 35 seconds to play.

The Highlanders went for the kill, with Watters hitting Gavin Ferris in the flat. Ferris was able to take the ball the remainder of the way into the end zone for a 28-0 advantage.

After a scoreless third quarter, the game went into running-clock mode when Watters scored on a 4-yard run in the first minute of the fourth.

Although this was a highly-competitive rivalry when Rochester was a two-high school district, the Falcons haven’t won since 1996. Still, Patritto said the magnitude of the game has not been diminished.

“We have a great relationship with Rochester High — a couple of our coaches are actually alumni of Rochester High. There’s always a lot on the line when we play these games," Patritto said. "Our kids know their kids. When I started (21 years ago), there was so much vitriol, so much hatred. Clearly there’s a lot of emotion on the line, but a lot of respect for each other. The rivalry’s still the rivalry and nothing’s been able to dissipate that.”

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: MHSAA football: Rochester Adams blows by Rochester in rivalry game