Despite a tough season that has so far been winless, Rock Falls players keep fighting hard through every game.

But as the weeks wear on, the Rockets are understandably finding it harder to find as many positives – and they’re looking inward to find ways to keep pulling on the same rope.

“I think it only takes a couple people to get down, and it affects the whole huddle, the whole offense, the whole sideline – and once that happens, it’s hard to come back from,” sophomore fullback/defensive lineman Zachary Walker said. “I think we have to take accountability in turning around the mood, and those are the people that are going to end up leading the team.

“It hurts me to say it, but if we just had that, and if we could flip it around and have that motivation to keep on giving everything to the game, we could turn the scoreboard around.”

Rock Falls played one of its best halves of the season Friday night, controlling the ball and the clock against Illinois Valley Central. But it failed to finish off its three long, time-consuming drives with touchdowns, and the result was a scoreless tie at halftime.

The Rockets then fell behind to start the second half, and things snowballed from there in a 28-0 loss. Rock Falls (0-7, 0-6 BNC) is currently mired in a 15-game losing streak.

But players look to the fire and intensity they had to start the game, and realize that if they can keep that going for four quarters, things can turn around for the team.

And it starts with leadership among their own ranks.

“It’s not the people that just get down here and there, it’s the people that everyone looks up to, it’s the people that when their mood changes, everyone’s mood changes. We need to take accountability, we need to figure it out, we need to show leadership, and we just need to work as a team,” sophomore running back/linebacker Phillip Griffith Jr. said. “If we come out with all that hype that we did [against IVC] in the first half in every other game, then we’ll start winning football games for this program.”

Sterling looking for another bounce back

The Golden Warriors were in a similar position a month ago. They lost 36-20 to Moline and were saddled with a 1-2 record.

They used it as an opportunity.

Sterling had a huge 49-28 Western Big 6 Conference comeback win at United Township the following week before blowing by Galesburg and Alleman.

Last Friday in Geneseo, Sterling fell 31-10 and did not score an offensive touchdown. A Brady Hartz kick return and a Ryan Gebhardt field goal were the only scores for Sterling (4-3, 3-2).

It was Geneseo’s first win over Sterling since 2014.

The Maple Leafs intercepted Brady Berlin twice for his first picks of the season. He was 14 of 27 passing for 116 yards. Cobey Shipma had 33 yards rushing, and De La Cruz ran for 32 as Sterling had 100 yards on the ground.

“They did a really good job of putting us in tough situations,” Sterling coach Jon Schlemmer said.

Geneseo had big gains running the option and kept Sterling off balance with its backfield misdirection.

“They were definitely smart on offense with their fakes and everything,” De La Cruz said. “They really knew how to get underneath our skin.”

Sterling will have another shot at a bounceback win this week against Quincy (5-2, 4-1).

“We’ve been through this,” Schlemmer said. “We got beat against a good Moline team and came back and beat a good [United Township] team.

“We’ve just got to draw from that, making sure that we understand that there’s a lot of football to be played.”

Dixon’s Landon Knigge has five-TD quarter

When the Dukes aren’t playing Byron this season, things have been pretty one-sided.

Landon Knigge’s five-touchdown first quarter was the latest example of Dixon’s dominance the last five weeks in the Big Northern Conference.

Knigge had TD runs of 25, 50, 10, 50 and 91 yards in just the first quarter of a 50-15 win at Winnebago. Dixon (6-1, 6-1) led 35-0 after the first quarter en route to securing a spot on the playoffs.

Knigge finished with 252 yards on just eight carries in the win.

He raised his rushing total to 1,217 yards and 22 TDs on 87 carries for an average of 13.99 yards per rush. He already has more TDs than last year’s 18, and is near last year’s 1,268 yards rushing.

Newman clinches playoff spot

The Comets (6-1, 4-1 TRAC Rock) are playoff-bound for the 23rd straight year. Newman pulled away to win 24-14 at Riverdale last Friday after leading just 8-0 at halftime. The Comets have reached the playoffs every year since a rare absence during the 2000-01 season after going 5-4. The playoffs went from six to eight classes that year. Newman has not had a losing record since going 4-5 in the 1991-92 season.

Area scoreboard

• Dixon 50, Winnebago 15
• Geneseo 31, Sterling 10
• IVC 28, Rock Falls 0
• Newman 24, Riverdale 14
• Stillman Valley 21, Oregon 15
• Erie-Prophetstown 40, Orion 14
• Illini West 28, Bureau Valley 20
• Du-Pec 34, Forreston 20
• Stockton 46, EPC 8
• Morrison 48, Dakota 16
• Fulton 56, Southwestern (WI) 40
• Milledgeville 56, Orangeville 16
• West Carroll 70, AFC 8
• Polo 50, River Ridge 8