Rocklin beats the heat by beating Capital Christian 42-19

What appeared would be a good matchup for Rocklin High turned into a rout, as the Thunder football team handed visiting Capital Christian a 42-19 defeat Saturday morning. The Cougars (0-3) struck first by scooping up a Rocklin fumble and taking it to the Thunder 18-yard line. Three plays later, quarterback Ryder Trantham tossed a 20-yard scoring strike to receiver Kayne Clark for a 6-0 lead following a missed point after. But Capital Christian did not score again until less than nine minutes remained in the fourth quarter. In the meantime, Rocklin posted five scores on two rushes by Mason Silva of 23 and 20 yards, one 8-yarder by backfield mate Elias Brown and two intercepted passes by Mavrik Collins and Logan Rothe. Collins rambled 87 yards for six and Rothe followed with a 90-yarder. Rothe's pick produced an interesting end to the third quarter. The Cougars had driven the ball 59 yards to the Thunder 10-yard line when the clock ran out. The teams switched ends of the field but were called back when it was determined seven seconds still remained in the period. On that play, Rothe stepped in front of Trantham's pass for the pick six to officially end the quarter. Logan Pandis added the PAT to start the fourth quarter. Rocklin intercepted Trantham four times but the Capital Christian QB managed to roll up 155 yards on 11-of-25 passes. The Thunder's Kyle Hall and Eli Hardy were also credited with interceptions. Rocklin quarterback Joe Roberts helped keep the Cougars honest by throwing 13 passes but only four were caught, totaling 33 yards. Although it was not a banner day for the Rocklin senior, Thunder coach Jason Adams was not concerned. "We have a quarterback that can do it. We've all seen him do it and he can do it on the big stage," Adams said of Roberts. "He's doing all the things he can do to make himself the best player he can be." Adams said some of the poor production was on the receivers as well. He said the Thunder's passing game was all-inclusive and not just a quarterback problem. Behind the silver and blue's offensive line, the tandem of Brown and Silva slashed through the Capital Christian defense, combining for nearly 200 yards on 21 carries. Rocklin's rushing defense would have held the Cougars to almost zero yards were it not for three huge runs by Malakai Taione late in the game. Following a 60-yard burst in the third quarter, the running back had TD runs of 66 and 28 yards in the fourth quarter to cap the Cougars' scoring. "I'm extremely pleased with the fact the kids are owning their mistakes and they're humble with their successes," Adams said of his team's progress. "They believe in what we're trying to do but they haven't come close yet. They haven't had 100-percent execution." Rocklin (2-1) will travel to Antioch (1-1) on Friday, if the schedule is not changed to accommodate a shortage of officials. Capital Christian 6 0 0 13 – 19 Rocklin 14 7 21 0 – 42 CC – Clark 20 pass from Trantham (kick failed) Rocklin – Brown 8 run (Pandis kick) Rocklin – Silva 28 run (Pandis kick) Rocklin – Silva 20 run (Pandis kick) Rocklin – Collins 90 interception return (Pandis kick) Rocklin – Rothe 87 interception return (Pandis kick) CC – Taione 66 run (Isaiah Langham kick) CC – Taione 28 run (2-point conversion failed)