Ford, Rockford Christian motor past Christian Liberty
Rockford Christian came to Arlington Heights on Saturday afternoon in need of a win to keep their football playoff chances alive.
Mission accomplished for the Royals, who made quick work of host Christian Liberty with a 50-6 win in the Northeastern Athletic Conference .
Running back Gary Ford was impressive with 3 touchdowns and 218 yards rushing in 20 attempts.
“We wanted to come here and work on our blocking schemes,” said Ford. “We wanted to execute the best we could and get the win. I have to give alot of credit to our offensive line.”
The Royals(3-4) rushed for 336 yards and passed for 53 more for their total of 389. The Chargers (0-7) chalked up 127 rushing yards with junior running back Dan Glad picking up 86 yards in 14 attempts.
Trey Williams started things off, taking a lateral from quarterback Nelson Coleman and running 50 yards for an 8-0 lead on the Royals’ first possession at the 9:40 mark.
The Chargers received a key blow to their offense when senior Ben Thomas broke his right thumb on the ensuing kickoff.
“We lost Ben and then later on Dan Andersen (elbow) and those are two big losses in the line,” said Christian Liberty coach Jim Calkins. “We had to move people around then.”
Thad Evans finished a 41-yard drive for the Royals with a 7-yard run and a 15-0 lead.
During the second quarter, Ford scoed on runs of 55 and 33. Kalab Polky, and Alec Johnson caught touchdown passes of 14 and 13 from Coleman giving the Royals a 43-0 halftime lead.
“We had a lot of injuries to start the season and we were very young,” said Royals coach Glynn Jones. “But we are starting to put it together and playing well.”
Ford scored his final touchdown in the third quarter on a 14-yard run. Brigham Weyrauch kicked 6 extra points.
“Ford is a tremendous athlete,” said Jones. “I think he is getting his poise up to a first-level skill.”
“I saw video on Ford, “ said Calkins. “I knew he would be a worry with the way he cuts back.”
The Chargers avoided a shutout with 1:00 to go on Gabe Grob’s 9 yard touchown pass to Marcus Silva.
“We keep getting some injuries but the kids keep coming back,” said Calkins. “The kids want to play. We just have to get ready for Friday’s game up at Kirkland-Hiawatha.”