The Rolla Bulldogs took 11 straight minutes off the clock in the fourth quarter to close out an upset victory over the Lebanon Yellowjackets on Friday night at Lions Memorial Stadium, 28-20.
Rolla senior quarterback Adam Hounsom made a handful of off-scripted plays, including a game-sealing 11-yard completion to Gage Klossner on 4th and 9 on the LHS 30-yard line with 2:30 left in the contest to allow the Bulldogs to kneel out the clock in victory formation.
Lebanon (7-1 overall) came into the game ranked No. 4 in Missouri Class 5, but Rolla (4-3 overall) cared not for rankings, executing timely plays to pull out a win.
Down 28-12 entering the fourth quarter, the ‘Jackets got a rushing touchdown from junior Cade Muscia with 11:05 left in the game. Peyton Mitchell converted the two-point conversion, but that would be the last time Lebanon possessed the ball as the Bulldogs ran 15 plays to run the clock out.
Rolla head coach and former Lebanon defensive coordinator Jon Franks recorded his first win over the Yellowjackets since taking over in Phelps County.
“I want to credit them (Rolla),” head coach Will Christian said after the loss. “I thought their football team played with a ton of energy and passion. It is my responsibility to get our team ready to play, and I did not do that. It falls on me as the head coach.
“I thought Rolla had a great plan and executed on our errors, and we had too many of them. We have to respond the right way, and we need to assess why we got beat and improve in those areas. We have a strong group of kids and coaches that will do just that.”
For the complete story, see Saturday's edition of the LCR.
