Three thoughts: Rutland repels Essex to improve to 3-1 in H.S. football

ESSEX - Rutland quarterback Owen Perry took the shotgun snap and dropped back two half-paces before flinging a tight spiral for Luke Ragosta at the right pylon.

Essex's Luke Meunier had Ragosta in tight man coverage up the sideline — but the Raiders' quick timing route didn't care. The ball was airborne before either Meunier or Ragosta could look for it. Both athletes rose to meet it.

Meunier had the inside position, Ragosta the last laugh, leaping to snare the 22-yard touchdown pass from above his defender's outstretched fingers. 

"He went right over him — that kid had great position," Rutland coach Mike Norman said.

Ragosta's first quarter TD grab didn't just give Rutland the lead for good, it was indicative of what would follow in the Raiders' 17-7 triumph in Division I high school football on Friday night. Essex had its fingers on several chances to change the game and Rutland, making the plays it needed to, never paid the price.

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Rutland led 7-0 at intermission and stretched that margin to 17-0 in the second half before the Hornets got on the board with their final drive in a showdown defined by choppy possessions and sturdy defense. The teams combined for just 16 first downs and less than 400 yards of offense over a whopping 145 plays from scrimmage.

The Raiders improve to 3-1 while Essex, a week after pulling out a triple-overtime thriller against BFA-St. Albans fall to 2-2.

My three takeaways from the game: 

Field position decisive

The first half saw more punts (nine) than points or first downs (seven total) as the teams jockeyed for field position. 

It wasn't until the Raiders picked off Essex QB Sam Bowen late in the first quarter, setting up shop at the Hornets' 47, that either team threatened to score. Even then, Rutland needed a pair of fourth-and-short conversions to sustain the drive before Perry (9-of-21, 121 yards, 2 TDs) fired the opening strike to Ragosta (6 catches, 74 yards).

"It was just the feel of the game. This is a tough place to play," Norman said. "It was a game of momentum, going back and forth."

That seesaw first half gave way to a second half in which the Hornets struggled to get out of the shadow of their own end zone.

"We seemed to be deep in our territory and we couldn't get first downs to get it out," Essex coach Drew Gordon said. "When we'd punt they'd end up with the ball near midfield and that made their job a lot easier."

Hornets need more from offense

The flashes Essex showed with the ball were promising. Bowen clearly has some athletic targets at his disposal and has the arm to spread it around.

But those flashes refused to spark anything of substance until it was too late.

"We felt really good after that first half that we had a good opportunity to take care of business and win the game," Gordon said. "But offensively we just didn't move the ball well enough tonight, we didn't get first downs, our defense had to play on the field a lot more than we wanted them too." 

Bowen led the Hornets on the ground and in the air, picking up 32 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries while completing 8-of-27 passes for 116 yards and an interception. His fourth quarter deep ball to Thomas Hoffman, a 53-yard heave down the left sideline, was a bright spot, setting up the 1-yard TD run.

If the long completion hadn't been the only one, the night could've gone much differently. Instead, Essex failed to score from the 10  after a dropped ball in the end zone on second down. Later, Bowen had multiple spirals behind the Raiders' defense fall incomplete off the fingertips of wide-open receivers.

"We took a lot of shots down field and yeah, a few of them hit fingertips. We were that close to (not just) scoring seven points but 21 or 28 points," Gordon said. "If we could've gotten one of those early on it would've changed the complexion of the game."

"We've got to convert some of those opportunities into points," Gordon said.

Options carry Raiders to win

Rutland's read-option attack is predicated on forcing defense to make a choice — contain the running back or the quarterback — and going the other way at the last second. 

On the ground, the visitors leaned on senior running back Hunter Postemski to the tune of 24 carries and an even 100 yards. But Essex's commitment to denying Rutland its bread and butter exposed the hosts to the aerial attack, which struck for timely chunks of yardage.

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"That's because those guys were so focused on stopping that run game — and that's what's so effective about Rutland's passing game," Gordon said. "It's because that read-option game works so well for them."

Perry completed five of his first seven passes after halftime, including a second TD strike to Ragosta with 2:33 left in the third quarter for the Raiders' largest lead of the night.

The ability and effectiveness should bode well for the Raiders' offensive diversity over the second half of the season.

"Owen's done a nice job. I can be difficult to play for — I'm his position coach — I'm never satisfied or pleased, that's just my nature," Norman said. "He's a great kid, works really hard and pays attention."

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Contact Austin Danforth at 651-4851 or edanforth@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @eadanforth.