Paulik throws 3 TD passes, Meadows scores 3 TDs as Zebras blank Peru

Parks adds punt return for TD; defense pitches 4th shutout

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

Carson Paulik Zakk Parks

PERU — Carson Paulik threw three touchdown passes, and Zakk Parks returned a punt for a touchdown as the Rochester football team trounced host Peru 50-0 at Bengal Memorial Stadium Friday.

Trenton Meadows also scored three touchdowns for the Zebras, who improved to 5-1 overall and 5-0 in the Three Rivers Conference. He caught two of Paulik’s touchdown throws and also had a 40-yard touchdown run on the last play from scrimmage in the third quarter.

Brant Beck added 118 rushing yards and a touchdown, and Grant Holloway also ran for a touchdown. Grant Clark's only reception went for six yards and a score in the second quarter.

Spencer Backus went six for six on extra points.

Meanwhile, the Rochester defense pitched its second straight shutout and its fourth in six games. It reduced its defensive scoring average to a state-best 2.3 points per game.

Peru running back Isaiah Korba came in having run for over 100 yards in each of his last four games and with a 134-yard per-game average on the season. The Zebras held him to 30 yards.

Meadows also had an interception on defense, and Matt Crossland had a fumble recovery.

“I think the biggest thing is we got a little more penetration than other teams had,” Rochester coach Ron Shaffer said of defending Korba. “That closed things up pretty fast. Our kids really read their keys well. You know, the aggressive play took away his patient style.”

This marked the fourth time this season that a Zebra victory has ended with a running clock, per the IHSAA Mercy Rule.

For the first time since Week 2 against Tippecanoe Valley, Rochester did not score on its first drive. They drove 67 yards in 13 plays starting at their own 31, but Meadows was stopped for one yard on fourth-and-goal from the 3.

But in a precursor to what would happen the rest of the night, Rochester held Korba to three yards in three carries, and Kasen Hiles was forced to punt from his end zone.

Parks caught the punt, followed a block from Jabez Yarber, broke a tackle as he was staggered and went 40 yards for a touchdown.

“I’ve been waiting all season,” Parks said. “It’s always been right there. We just needed one more block, and we finally got it.”

Parks briefly attended Peru for three semesters before transferring back to Rochester as a freshman. Asked how many players he knew on Peru’s team, he said “all of them.”

“It brings back a lot of memories, but it’s nice,” a smiling Parks said. “Everyone here, I think, respects me enough, so I don’t get hated on too much.”

Rochester was initially lined up to attempt an extra point, but after Peru was called for offsides, Rochester decided to go for a two-point conversion from the 1 ½-yard line, and Paulik passed to Meadows for the deuce and an 8-0 lead.

Rochester forced another three-and-out and took over at the Peru 36 after a 21-yard Hiles punt.

Kale Shotts opened the drive with a 14-yard run, and Beck gained nine yards on third-and-3 on the first play of the second quarter.

After Shaffer called timeout, Paulik faked a handoff, rolled to his right and found an open Clark for a touchdown.

Hiles ran 11 yards on a sweep to the left on the second play of the ensuing possession, but Peru would punt again, and Hiles shanked a 16-yard punt that gave the Zebras the ball at their own 45.

On the first play of the drive, Paulik’s deep pass down the right flank of the field intended for Parks landed incomplete, but Peru was called for pass interference. On the next play, Paulik faked another handoff to Beck but instead threw deep to a lonely Meadows deep down the left seam for a 40-yard touchdown and a 22-0 lead.

“The thing was, they’re loading the box up,” Shaffer said. “Carson’s really been coming on in the passing game, and we thought, hey, we got to do this. He found the right receiver in the right moments every time.”

After a Peru punt, Meadows was stripped and lost a fumble at the Peru 29, but he atoned four plays later with an interception, and the lead stayed at 22-0 at halftime.

Peru went for it on fourth-and-3 from their own 25, but Rochester stopped quarterback Aiden Sheets for no gain with Beck grabbing Sheets’ legs and Clark spinning out of a double team and making sure he went to the turf.

Two plays later, Paulik passed to Yarber for 20 yards, and Beck went in untouched from the 4 to make it 29-0.

A Sheets 15-yard run with a Rochester late hit penalty tacked on moved the ball to the Rochester 44 on the ensuing drive, but things unraveled further for Peru.

Parks swallowed up Korba on a misdirection play, and Beck came in and jarred the ball loose. Crossland fell on it at the Zebra 47.

“It’s all about discipline, and if you just read your key, we’re just a way better team than anybody else,” Parks said.

Beck had a 32-yard run on a backside trap on third-and-19 from the Peru 37, and Paulik threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Meadows on a bootleg to the left to make it 36-0.

“All those passing plays are play-action plays,” Paulik said. “You’ve got to play-fake and then roll out, so we work on that a lot.”

After another Peru three-and-out and a 16-yard punt that gave Rochester the ball at the Peru 40, Meadows started off-tackle to the right and cut left while following a Mason Hisey block and found the clear and went 40 yards for a touchdown.

“We turn to him,” Shaffer said of Meadows. “He’s a guy now that’s been starting for us for two years. He’s playing a lot like a senior.”

Holloway had runs of 18 and 13 yards before his eight-yard scoring run with backups in the fourth quarter.

In other TRC action Friday, Maconaquah knocked off Northwestern 42-28 to remain in a tie for first with Rochester. The Zebras will host Maconaquah Oct. 17 in the regular season finale.

Rochester 50, Peru 0

Rochester 8 14 21 7 – 50

Peru 0 0 0 0 – 0

First quarter

RHS – Zakk Parks 40 punt return (Trenton Meadows pass from Carson Paulik)

Second quarter

RHS – Grant Clark 6 pass from Paulik (Spencer Backus kick)

RHS – Meadows 40 pass from Paulik (Backus kick)

Third quarter

RHS – Brant Beck 4 run (Backus kick)

RHS – Meadows 5 pass from Paulik (Backus kick)

RHS – Meadows 40 run (Backus kick)

Fourth quarter

RHS – Grant Holloway 8 run (Backus kick)