FOOTBALL: Bueno shines as Rochester takes down Avondale for Little Brown Jug
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
Twitter: @LocalSportsFans
AUBURN HILLS — The Little Brown Jug was dusted off recently and now it has Alex Bueno’s finger tips all over it.
The sophomore quarterback from Rochester finished a fine 12-for-16 passing for 203 yards and three touchdown passes Friday, and the Falcons’ defense was stifling on the other side of the ball all night.
The result was an impressive 41-16 OAA Blue Division thumping of host Auburn Hills Avondale to gain possession of the L.B.J. — which has only been given out twice in the last 35 years.
Rochester also took home the jug in 2016 and is now 19-11-1 against the Yellowjackets since 1950. More importantly, the Falcons are 2-0 for the first time since 2012 — only the third time in two decades and just the 14th time dating all the way back to 1952 that Rochester has started the season with two straight wins.
“This is a fun group to coach,” smiled Rochester head coach Erik Vernon. “We have some good players, good athletes, and these kids are playing hard. Our offensive line really stepped up today and we were able to move the football really well. That team has a lot of really skilled players and I thought defensively we didn’t let them run the football as much as I’m sure they would have liked to.”
Beuno’s totals is one of the highest single-game totals for a Rochester signal-caller over the past quarter century, as the Falcons are on the prowl for their first league title in 27 years and reverse some history. Rochester’s last league championship came in the old Metro Suburban Activities Association back in 1993, one year before the creation of the OAA, and the Falcons are only four wins away from that goal.
“Beating Avondale is big and the feeling is great. Before (Rochester) Adams opened (in 1969), Rochester and Avondale was a big rivalry,” said Beuno, who gained some valuable varsity game time last season as a freshman. “We wanted to come out and play well offensively and defensively and mostly offensively. Our offensive line did well on their blocks and we were able to score.”
Score in bunches.
Following last week’s 54-0 victory over Pontiac, Rochester now owns a 95-16 scoring edge after two weeks and is playing with the much-needed confidence. Last season the Falcons opened with four straight losses — all to eventual playoffs schools Rochester Adams, Oak Park, Birmingham Groves and Birmingham Seaholm.
“We saw a little bit from Alex back there last year as a freshman,” said Vernon. “He’s a good athlete and he makes good decisions with the football. We also have some receivers that can really catch the football and our offensive line I thought was a huge difference. They played great as a whole.
“We’re not looking past next week. I don’t want to speak in cliche’s but you can never look too far ahead,” offered Vernon, trying to temper down the Falcons’ fast start after going a combined 3-15 the past two years. “I’m happy with the way we have been playing, but we have so much work to do. We are playing some good football right now and now we have to get ready for Bloomfield Hills. They got us last year after we were up big early.”
Rochester never trailed, marching the opening drive down the field in eight plays over 64 yards and was capped by Beuno’s 14-yard fade pass to senior Bobby Kronner with 9:21 to play in the opening frame.
The Falcons scored again on their next drive, this time on Andrew Koss’ 9-yard sprint up the middle with 2:54 to go in the first quarter.
Avondale (0-2, 0-2) finally got untracked when Indiana University-bound senior running back David Holloman scored on a 2-yard run and on the ensuing two-point conversion run to bring the Yellowjackets to within 14-8.
That was the closest Avondale would come on the night, as Rochester (2-0, 2-0) scored three more times before the half for a 35-8 advantage at the break.
Koss added a 42-yard touchdown run where he was untouched on the play with 2:54 remaining in the first quarter. Bueno found a streaking junior Preston Schroyer down the right sideline with a 46-yard rope for another score, this time for a 28-8 lead with 8:45 remaining in the half.
The Falcons forced Avondale over on downs on its next possession and quickly struck for a fifth time with 3:23 left when Bueno scampered home from 11 yards out.
Freshman kicker Jack Lynch nailed five of his six extra points attempts in his varsity debut.
“Rochester is a well-coach team with some great athletes and they came out to play and we came out flat,” sighed Avondale coach Corey Bell. “We can’t start a game like that. We have got to come out faster and not make as many mistakes.”
In the second half, Rochester was able to score again with 6:26 left in the third stanza when Bueno found Schroyer for a second occasion, this time wide open in the end zone on a 25-yard dart.
Avondale was able to score a second time late in the fourth quarter when senior quarterback Reece Betts connected with freshman Eric Christoff on a 42-yard touchdown pass and senior Corban Small added the conversion reception to cap the scoring.
Defensively, Rochester smothered Avondale at the line of scrimmage and held Holloman to only 42 yards on seven carries. Betts was 8-for-12 passing for 130 yards and Small had five catches for 57 yards for the Yellowjackets.
Rochester outgunned Avondale 405-207 on total yards offense and held Avondale to only 77 positive yards on the ground.
“We have got to be better,” said Bell. “Whether that is better field position, make fewer mistakes, limit our penalties. We’ll review the film and see exactly where we need to get better. It starts at the top with me and my staff. We have got to have these guys better prepared. Sure, there were some positives and we’ll have to build on that.”
Sure-handed Schroyer and Kronner — both whom earned All-OAA honors last season — had big receiving nights for Rochester. Schroyer had four catches for 111 yards and Kronner snagged five passes for 67 yards.
Defensively, senior Kavan Troy — a three-time All-State wrestler — recorded a sack, recovered a fumble and also recovered an onside kick. Senior Balaaj Forcon-Alhuk also recovered a fumble, while senior Anthony Piccirilli and juniors Tommy Liddle and Colton Rogers all had sacks for the Falcons.
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