Rocket Football Preview: Week 6

Rockets at Arlington

Colby Markham ('25), Orbit Contributor
October 13, 2022

The middle of the season has arrived, and the blistering hot Rockets have never looked better. With a poise and winning mentality eerily similar to the legendary 2012 team, their iron grip on the Middlesex Liberty Division gets tighter with each passing week.

Last Week: An Instant Classic

As predicted, it was a close one in Woburn, with the Rockets barely holding off the Tanners in a 38-37 nail-biter, which was also head coach John Fiore’s 150th win. In what was arguably the most exciting game all season, as both offenses set the field aflame, tallying 854 combined yards of offense and zero punts.

Senior quarterback James Murphy, put on one of his best performances of the season. The talented signal caller tossed an impressive four touchdowns and 260 yards, completing 17 of 25 passes in yet another interception-free game. A lack of interceptions has been the status quo for James this season, having thrown only one so far in his senior campaign.

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…both offenses set the field aflame, tallying 854 combined yards of offense and zero punts.

“I think it just comes in terms of trusting my teammates and decision making, that’s all it really comes down to… the offensive coordinator has done a tremendous job of making my job really easy and allowing me to get the ball out to our playmakers who are ultimately the reason why we’ve been so successful.”

But James wasn’t the only one who had a great game. Woburn running back Bryan Ferreira was deadly, running for 245 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries. He fueled Woburn’s second-half offensive explosion, and was a huge component in keeping them in the game.

Woburn showed that they could throw the ball well too. Senior Quarterback Brett Tuzzolo only threw 17 times, but made the most of it, putting up 151 yards and 3 touchdowns, as well as making some key decisions down the stretch.

Ironically, in a game featuring two of the most potent offenses in the Middlesex League, a defensive play is what sealed it. With one minute and twenty three seconds left, senior safety Aidan Bekkenhuis, made an interception to prevent a two point conversion that would have given Woburn the lead. After that, it was a simple matter of running the clock out, and the Rockets walked away with another victory.

This Week: At Arlington

The Rockets next matchup will be against the 2-3 Arlington Spy-Ponders this Friday.

Arlington’s had a tough year, with a squad that’s been on the poor side of inconsistency. Last week losing 45-28 against Lexington, and most notably suffering a brutal 49-0 thrashing at the hands of Hingham in September, the defense will be something that Reading’s sharp passing game should be able to take advantage of.

Despite this, underestimating an opponent can lead to sloppy play, and ultimately a loss. James Murphy assured us that the Rockets are not in the business of letting confidence become arrogance.

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…we need to have a really good week of practice and we need to practice each week like we’re playing the Catholic Memorials or the Milfords or the King Phillips.

— James Murphy ('23)

“You never wanna play down to competition, not that Arlington is poor competition, they’re just below .500 and have some really good playmakers.” He said. “So we need to have a really good week of practice and we need to practice each week like we’re playing the Catholic Memorials or the Milfords or the King Phillips, those really high powered teams who we’re gonna see down the road…”

The Rockets are in the Liberty Division driver’s seat, with Woburn and Lexington not too far behind. Lexington is a team to look out for. Despite being 3-3, the Minutemen are 2-0 in league games, and that puts them right up with the Rockets. If they can take down Belmont this Friday, and somehow squeeze out a win against Woburn, it’ll be a game to look forward to when they visit Reading on October 28th.

The Rockets are heavy favorites this Friday.

Liberty Division Standings