Rocklin rolls to Quarry Bowl rout over Whitney, 42-0, building off ‘zest and energy’
From a community standpoint, the Quarry Bowl rivalry between Rocklin and Whitney is as good as it gets.
Friday night at Whitney High School in Rocklin was the 15th edition of the annual Quarry Bowl, with one playoff game mixed in, between the crosstown rivals. The game was named after the city of Rocklin’s granite mining history dating back to the Civil War and has seen lopsided scores by more than 45 points as well as last-second, game-winning field goals.
From head coaches Greg Benzel to Jason Adams at Rocklin and Mike Gimenez to Paul Doherty to Zac McNally at Whitney, there’s always been a mutual respect between these two Placer County programs. Standing room only and dueling student sections set the tone for each meeting.
Rocklin’s Quarry Bowl dominance over the previous four meetings carried over into Friday night, as the Thunder downed the Wildcats, 42-0, to improve to 2-1 in the Sierra Foothill League.
Rocklin coach Adams emphasized the importance of his scout team in practice for getting Rocklin to a 5-1 start.
“They do exactly what we ask them to do with a ton of zest and energy,” Adams said. “Our scout team is the reason we play so well.”
The win gives Rocklin a 13-3 all-time edge over Whitney. The Wildcats’ last win over the Thunder came in the programs’ lone playoff meeting in 2019.
Rocklin struck first Friday as Reeve Slone connected with former Whitney Wildcat Keane Frank for a 19-yard strike to make it 7-0 Thunder by the end of the first quarter.
“He showed up on our doorstep and we’re thankful to have him,” Adams said of Frank. “We added a good person to the locker room, and he happens to be a heck of a football player too.”
Derek Keeley had two big runs and recovered a Whitney fumble over the next two Rocklin drives to set up scores for himself — a 4-yard run early in the second quarter — and for Rafi Merino on a 2-yard run just three minutes later for a 21-0 Thunder lead.
Merino ran in his second straight score, this time from 6 yards out, at the 2:07 mark of the first half to give Rocklin a 28-0 halftime cushion.
Whitney took the opening drive of the third quarter all the way down to a first-and-goal opportunity from the 1-yard line. But the Thunder defense held tough, driving Whitney backwards and forcing Gettis Rose out of bounds just shy of the end zone for a goal-line stand.
Alex Durham then capped a 99-yard drive with a short score to give Rocklin a 35-0 lead at the end of the third.
Jack Peyton capped the scoring for the Thunder with a short score with a running clock in the fourth.
“It’s the way we practice,” Keeley said. “We practice with the most intensity in the SFL, I believe.”
The two schools’ girls flag football teams preceded the boys tackle contest, experiencing the Friday night lights atmosphere for the first time. Rocklin, which toppled The Bee’s previous No. 1 flag football team, Del Oro, on Tuesday, pulled out a 19-6 victory over the Wildcats.
Rocklin tackle football is scheduled to play at Davis next Friday, while Whitney (2-4 overall, 2-1 SFL) looks to get back on track at Granite Bay.
Nick Pecoraro is a sports journalist and host of “Premier Preps with Nick Pecoraro,” a weekly prep show available on YouTube that recaps games and teams in the Sacramento area each week. Find it at youtube.com/@PremierPreps.