Berne Union finds new offensive spark in Hocking

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SUGAR GROVE — For the first five weeks of the season, James Hocking’s main role on Berne Union’s offense was as a receiver, where he paired with fellow wideout Dillan Cornell to help the Rockets run a successful passing game.

Then, two weeks ago in a loss to Worthington Christian, Berne Union coach Tony Hurps threw in a wrinkle with the offense that moved Hocking to running back and Hurps saw some success that intrigued him. And then, when Berne Union starting quarterback got injured before the game with Grove City Christian in Week 7, Hurps opted to move Hocking in the backfield full time.

And so far, it’s been a smashing success.

Hocking rushed for 142 yards on 28 carries and found the end zone twice to lead his Rockets to a 23-7 victory over Fisher Catholic on Friday night in a big Mid-State League Cardinal Division game. Hocking has now piled up 334 rushing yards and four touchdowns in the last two weeks,

“It’s just, you want to give your playmakers the ball and find ways to get your playmakers the ball and let them do something special with it,” Hurps said. “We put that (package) in against Worthington Christian, and we thought, ‘ Here’s a package for James to get him some more touches, ‘and it worked well. Then Carson got hurt, and we thought, “Hey, this is what we are, so let’s roll with it and we had success with it, and it worked out pretty well.”

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With Kiger out, it was Ashton O’Rourke that got the start at quarterback again and he did a little bit of everything for the Rockets (5-3 overall, 4-0 MSL). He completed three of his six passes for 30 yards, ran the ball 11 times for 60 yards, and also caught one pass for 37 yards — which went for a touchdown.

And on defense, the Rockets held a Fisher Catholic (6-2, 3-1) team with the two-headed monster at running back of Ethan O’Rielley and Sam Tencza in check. The Irish came in scoring at least 32 points in four straight games, with O’Rielley and Tencza averaging 176 rush yards per game with 15 total touchdowns. However, the Rockets held the Irish to just 107 total rushing yards and 2-of-10 on third-down conversions to run away with the win.

“They have some pretty good players on that side of the ball,” Hurps said of Fisher Catholic, “so we knew it was going to be a battle, and it was close the whole game. These games are a lot of fun.”

Fisher Catholic did put together a nice drive to start the game as the Irish had a 48-yard pass from James Wilkinson to Damian Neal that got the Irish into the red zone, threatening to score. However, Berne Union’s defense bowed up and held strong on fourth down to keep the game scoreless.

Then, late in the first quarter, Berne Union’s defense forced a fumble and recovered, setting up the Rockets in Irish territory. A few plays later, the Rockets cashed in on the turnover when Hocking took a handoff and outmuscled the Irish defense into the end zone for the early 7-0 Rockets lead.

Fisher Catholic responded with what turned out to be its only scoring drive of the game and the Irish tied the game at 7-7 when Sam Tencza ran the ball in from seven yards out and seemed to get some momentum back on its side.

The turning point came midway through the second quarter as the Rockets worked the ball down the field until the offense stalled out at the Irish 37-yard line and faced a fourth down and 14 to go. Instead of punting, the Rockets opted to go for it and brought in sophomore Landon Musick at quarterback to do so.

Musick took the snap, looked left and threw the ball to O’Rourke on a screen, and O’Rourke did the rest. He made two Irish defenders miss and then hit the afterburners, then outran the Irish 37 yards for the go-ahead touchdown.

“Well Ashton (O’Rourke) is a playmaker, and you get your playmakers the ball,” Hurps said of the call. “They (Fisher Catholic) were yelling “Screen!” and knew what was coming, and it didn’t matter. We were a little bit confused (lining up), so I was a little bit nervous and almost used a timeout there, but Ashton just made some plays. We felt like every time we had the ball we had to try to get in the end zone and get points because possessions were at a premium.”

Fisher Catholic tried to sneak in a score before halftime as they got the ball after a bad snap on a Berne Union punt attempt gave the Irish the ball at the Rockets 32 with 56 seconds to play in the half. The Irish got as close as the nine yard line and eventually attempted a 34-yard field goal that was no good and missed to the left to keep the score at 14-7 at the break.

In the second half, Berne Union added three points to their total with a 39-yard field goal that was boomed home by Aidan Harris to make it a 17-7 game with 7:26 left to play in the third quarter.

In the fourth quarter, Berne Union basically ran out the final 7:39 of the game as the Rockets went 68 yards in that span on the backs of Hocking and O’Rourke. Hocking added his second touchdown with just 13 seconds left on a fourth-down carry from the three-yard line that increased the Rockets’ lead to 23-7.

“We just couldn’t stop them,” Fisher Catholic coach Luke Thimmes said. “I finally called a timeout when it was pretty much in hand, and I just told the guys they played their hearts out and I love them, I’m proud of them, and hey, sometimes this happens. Sometimes you win, sometimes you learn.”

Fisher Catholic will try to rebound in Week 9 as it hosts Grove City Christian and Berne Union stays home to host Fairfield Christian.

This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: Berne Union finds new offensive spark in Hocking