Since the Big Nine Conference plays a rotating schedule for football, an obvious question comes to mind for the Albert Lea Tigers.

Saturday, September 15, 2001

Since the Big Nine Conference plays a rotating schedule for football, an obvious question comes to mind for the Albert Lea Tigers.

When do they get to skip Rochester John Marshall?

The Rockets, a perennial conference and state power, continued their domination of the Tigers with a 52-0 victory at Hammer Field Friday night.

It was JM’s third straight shutout of the Tigers, following a 68-0 game two years ago and a 55-0 score last fall. Friday’s loss dropped the Tigers to 0-3 and extended their losing skid to 22 games while JM, ranked No. 4 in the state in Class 5A, improved to 3-0.

&uot;They’re tough,&uot; said Tigers coach Jeff Marty. &uot;We knew going in they were going to be very physical and tough.&uot;

And the Tigers were not at full strength. Starting middle linebacker Jake Jerdee was sidelined with a recurring shoulder injury, and others played hurt.

John Marshall rushed for 424 yards while outgaining the Tigers 434-86.

The Rockets struck quickly, returning the opening kickoff to their own 48 and, on the first play from scrimmage, sophomore Ben Schafer ran 52 yards for a touchdown. Dan Ness’ PAT kick made it 7-0 with just 24 seconds elapsed.

It remained that way until late in the opening quarter, when Jay Schauder scored on a quarterback sneak following a punt that gave the Rockets the ball on the Albert Lea 21.

The Rockets took advantage of another short-field situation in the second quarter, going 30 yards in five plays to score. They added a pair of big plays – a 43-yard run by Brent Hovis and a 25-yarder by Joe Russell, to build a 35-0 halftime lead.

The Rockets scored the lone third-quarter touchdown, adding a 25-yard field goal and 61-yard scoring run in the final period. Some positives for the Tigers, according to Marty, were the running of Justin Kuipers, Jake McClaskey’s receiving and the effort of Mike Carr on kickoff returns. The Tigers also had five first downs.

&uot;Again, we gave up too many big plays,&uot; said Marty. &uot;We need to be a little more consistent defensively. Offensively, we really lack the strength to compete with a team like this; we’ve got the heart and the desire, we just didn’t get into the weight room enough last summer.&uot;

Marty was also pleased to see the Tigers still hustling and having fun in the fourth quarter.

&uot;They were mixing it up right to the end,&uot; said Marty. &uot;That was good.&uot;

RJM 14 21 7 10 – 52

AL 0 0 0 0 – 0

First Quarter

RJM-Schafer 52 run (Ness kick)

RJM-Schauder 1 run (Ness kick)

Second Quarter

RJM-Russell 1 run (Ness kick)

RJM-Hovis 43 run (Ness kick)

RJM-Russell 25 run (Ness kick)

Third Quarter

RJM-House 3 run (Traxel kick)

Fourth Quarter

RJM-Traxel 25 field goal

RJM-House 61 run (Traxel kick)

RJM AL

First downs 9 5

Rushing yards 424 68

Passing yards 10 18

Total yards 434 86

Turnovers 1 4

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING-AL, Kuipers 13-59, Swenson 10-19, McClaskey 1-10, Babastro 2-2, Tolbers 2-4, Goodnature 5 -13.

PASSING-AL, Tolbers 2-9-0, 16; Goodnature 1-2-1, 2.

RECEIVING-AL, McClaskey 3-18.