Rogers downs #2 Kentridge

Kentridge may have a roster full of college prospects, but under the lights at French Field on Friday night, it was the team effort by Rogers that ruled the day. The Rams never trailed the entire game, taking the lead in the first quarter and never looking back on their way to a 28-7 win over the highly touted Chargers.

Kentridge may have a roster full of college prospects, but under the lights at French Field on Friday night, it was the team effort by Rogers of Puyallup that ruled the day. The Rams never trailed the entire game, taking the lead in the first quarter and never looking back on their way to a 28-7 win over the highly touted Chargers.

The win was huge for a Rogers squad that was looking for their first win of the season after losing to Federal Way 22-21 last week. The Rams were led by Quarterback Tyler Van Sligtenhorst, who made plays with his arms and his legs all night, keeping the Charger defense on their heels most of the night.

Sligtenhorst started early in the game, taking over deep in Ram’s territory after a fumble by Turner. That quickly changed as Van Sligtenhorst connected with one of his receivers down the right sideline, moving his team into the red zone for the first time of the night. A few plays later, Van Sligtenhorst scored on a keeper around the left end.

Rogers (1-1) added another touchdown in the second quarter on a nineteen-yard connection between Van Sligtenhorst and tight end Grant Williams to make it 14-0. On the night, Van Sligtenhorst had 203 yards passing to go along with two touchdowns through the air and one of the ground.

Kentridge (1-1) had their opportunities throughout the game, but hurt themselves by turning the ball four times. Charger quarterback Brandon Turner, one of the top recruits in the state for the class of 2008, lost a fumble in the red zone and threw an interception. Turner scored on a four-yard run in the fourth quarter, and finished with 136 yards passing and 35 on the ground.

Despite the loss, coach Marty Osborn seemed optimistic for the rest of the season.

“Well now we have won a game and lost a game, so we know how both feel,” said Osborn. “Our passing game was better this week so that was good. We made some mistakes tonight, but it is all stuff that we can fix before next week.”

Rogers will look to keep the ball rolling next week against Emerald Ridge at Sparks Stadium, while the Chargers hope to regroup against division foe Tahoma at French Field.