Rising Sun's football team assured itself of at least a .500 record by routing host Harford Tech 42-7 Friday night. The Tigers have won five of their last six games and are 5-4 heading into Friday night's finale against visiting Perryville. "The last time we had a winning record or were over .500 was 2009," said star receiver Jack Stewart. "This is my senior year. It's honestly going to make my senior year. I love my team. I'm really excited if we can get to 6-4 in the next game." Stewart has played a key role in Rising Sun's resurgence. The senior began last season as the starting quarterback, but Stewart and his teammates struggled to an 0-10 record. This year, Stewart embraced a move to receiver and has become one of the most productive pass catchers in the conference. "I'm just glad I didn't quit on my team," Stewart said. "I knew I had to prove myself and step up as a senior this year because there's very few of us…I worked very hard during the offseason and I led my team. I picked my head up and I just drove through." In Friday night's rout, Stewart caught six passes for 134 yards and two touchdowns. Quarterback Nate McCullough completed 9 of 16 attempts for 221 yards. The Tiger defense forced six turnovers, including four interceptions. Cameron Billings picked off a pair of passes and Maurice McCargo and Joe Jones each recorded an INT. Jones recovered a fumble and Brendan Shivery recovered a squib kick mishandled by the Cobras. McCargo, Brandon Peirson, and Adam McMullen each had a sack. Rising Sun scored on its first possession and never looked back. Maurice McCargo's five-yard TD run and Jesse Herrera's PAT put the Tigers ahead 7-0 just 2:08 into the game. Elijah Ehrhart made it 14-0 when he busted up the middle and galloped 57 yards for another score. Tech cut its deficit in half with 9:08 left in the third quarter before Stewart-quarterback Nate McCullough combination connected twice for TDs to raise Rising Sun's lead to 28-7 at the break. "I just went up and I went for the ball," said Stewart. "I saw a little mismatch and I knew I could get the ball from the start. I fight for it. I played hard. This was my last away game so I knew I had to play my heart out." Stewart credits his quarterback. "He puts it perfectly into my hands. We work a lot on it in practice and I just go up and I snag them. I do my best to." McCullough tossed an eight-yard scoring strike to Noah Juergens late in the third quarter. Colin Cascio capped the scoring with a two-yard plunge in the fourth quarter. Rising Sun has won five of its last six games. Rising Sun coach Rich Opp says his team's turnaround has meant "a whole heck of a lot". "It feels great," he said. "Especially, I told these kids tonight, we were 0-3 and they hung in there instead of folding the tent. That's a testament to their character, which is good for life." Comments are closed.
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