The wait was a little longer than expected for the Rochester Community and Technical College football team on Saturday, but when the Yellowjackets finally took the field for their season opener they pulled out a 39-34 win over Northland.
The game was delayed for nearly two and a half hours because the Northland team bus broke down on the way to the game.
"It was a long wait," first-year RCTC coach Bill Quistorff said. "We had to sit two hours taped up. I thought they really responded to that adversity well."
Quistorff got the win in his first game as a head coach.
"It definitely feels good," he said. "But we definitely have a lot of things to improve on."
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Both teams started sluggish, perhaps due to the heat. Or the fact that both teams were affected by the delay. Northland led 14-9 at the half before the Yellowjackets scored 27 points in the third quarter to take a 36-28 lead.
"It wasn't pretty, but the job got done," RCTC freshman quarterback Tanner Menke said.
Menke threw for 277 yards and a touchdown in his first college game. Fellow freshman Virgil Hammond rushed for a pair of touchdowns and the RCTC defense intercepted four passes. Larry Moore returned one of those interceptions 14 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter.
"We laid down the foundation for the future," Menke said. "We know we have to improve on it."
Northland (0-1) and the Yellowjackets (1-0) were playing each other for the first time since the 2010 season.
RCTC is on the road this coming Saturday in Grand Rapids for a 1:30 p.m. game against Itasca.
"We just have to keep on building," Quistorff said.
RCTC 39, Northland 34
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SCORING SUMMARY
Northland 6 8 14 6 — 34
RCTC 6 3 27 3 — 39
First quarter
Northland — Michael Washington 2 run (pass failed), 11:44.
Drive: 7 plays, 65 yards. Key play: Aaron Doriot 27 pass from Justan Taliaferro.
RCTC — Virgil Hammond 5 run (kick failed), 2:14.
Drive: 5 plays, 72 yards. Key plays: Jake Kirsch 22 run; Phil McCarthy 27 pass from Tanner Menke.
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Second Quarter
RCTC — Ruan Albuquerque 26 FG, 1:50.
Drive: 5 plays, 29 yards. Key plays: Matthew Blanchard 37 pass from Menke.
Northland — Darian Nelson 29 run (Nelson run), 1:14.
Drive: 2 plays, 37 yards. Key play: 15-yard personal foul penalty on RCTC on kickoff to set up the drive.
Third Quarter
RCTC — Alex Schliesmann 60 run (Albuquerque kick), 13:53.
Drive: 2 plays, 60 yards.
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RCTC — Hammond 2 run (Albuquerque kick), 11:23.
Drive: 4 plays, 32 yards. Key plays: Kenneth McChristion interception to set up drive; Josh Zitzmann 21 pass from Menke.
Northland — Nelson 8 run (James Steffen pass from Taliaferro), 10:14.
Drive: 1 play, 8 yards. Key play: Northland recovered an RCTC fumble on a punt return to set up the drive.
RCTC — Evan Bungum 22 pass from Tanner Menke (Albuquerque kick), 4:50.
Drive: 5 plays, 89 yards. Key play: McCarthy 47 pass from Tanner Menke.
RCTC — Larry Moore 14 interception return (kick failed), 3:47.
Northland — Aaron Doriot 17 pass from Taliaferro (pass failed), 1:37.
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Drive: 6 plays, 67 yards. Key plays: Michael Washington 17 pass from Taliaferro.
Fourth Quarter
RCTC — Ruan Albuquerque 29 FG, 7:07.
Drive: 5 plays, 54 yards. Key play: Zitzmann 58 pass from Menke.
Northland — Washington 12 run (pass failed), 5:06.
Drive: 6 plays, 75 yards. Key plays: Doriot 28 pass from Taliaferro.
TEAM STATISTICS
Nor RCTC
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First downs 17 19
Total Net Yards 302 467
Rushes-yards 26-65 38-190
Passing yards 237 277
Comp-Att-Int 23-40-4 13-30-2
Punts-Average 5-46.8 4-38.0
Fumbles-Lost 2-0 2-1
Penalties-Yards 11-96 12-124
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Northland, Darian Nelson 11-49, Michael Washginton 6-34, Trevor Harris 1-14, Tanner Tott 1-0, Justan Talieferro 6-(-31), Team 1-(-1). RCTC, Virgil Hammond 18-82, Alex Schliesmann 8-82, Jake Kirsch 4-22, Tanner Menke 5-7, Team 3-(-3).
PASSING — Northland, Justan Faliaferro 23completions, 40 attempts, 2 touchdowns, 4interceptions, 237 yards. RCTC, Tanner Menke 13-30-1-2, 277 yards.
RECEIVING — Northland, Aaron Doriot 8-113, Darian Nelson 6-61, Michael Washington 4-26, Troy Benjamin 1-18, Phil Williams 1-9, Dashaun Whaley 1-2. RCTC, Josh Zitzmann 3-92, Phil McCarthy 3-85, Jake Kirsch 3-28, Matt Blanchard 2-39, Evan Bungum 2-33.
Missed field goals: None.
