Providence Bowl rivals Hickman and Rock Bridge both have great records, and tested their strengths against each other on Tuesday. This game was truly all over the place, but it didn’t start that way. 

In the opening minutes of the game, it appeared that this game would be very close, as both teams traded off possession without making it into scoring position. 

The standstill ceased when Hickman had their first shot on goal which missed, coming from senior Braka Grodya with 30 minutes to play in the first half. 

However, the standstill would resume until Rock Bridge would take a first shot of their own coming from junior Davis Graham, with 23:30 left in the first half. 

Hickman attacked on that missed shot, and scored the first goal of the game, less than thirty seconds later. After a miscue from Rock Bridge senior goalie, Gus Hollis, Hickman’s Braka scored a goal just feet away from the goal line. 

The Kewpies kept going on that momentum and had a great chance to score when freshman Christopher Linares-Quintanilla took the ball all the way to the line with twelve minutes left in the first half. Unfortunately, this would be an empty attack as Hickman was unable to capitalize. 

Five minutes later, the Kewpies were in the same position, ready to score again. Unlike his first attack, Christopher was able to finish at the net, and score with 7:09 remaining in the first half, and putting Hickman up 2-0. 

The first half would end this way, with a common theme of capitalizing on opportunities. While there were not a lot of them, the ones Hickman had, they made sure to capitalize on, and that’s why they led going into the second half. 

Early on in the second half, Rock Bridge looked like they were close to scoring with a free kick. This free kick was no match for Hickman’s goalie, junior Bob Carter, who easily saved the shot with 38:30 left in the game. Hickman would pick up where they left off in the first half, as senior Solomon Wanyo

nyi scored a goal off of a one-on-one with a Rock Bridge defender, making the 3-0, with 36:45 remaining. 

The score would not remain this way for long, as the Bruins received a penalty kick. The lack of offsides call was questioned by the outroar of the fans. Rock Bridge junior Josh Imhoff would take and make the penalty kick, making the score 3-1, with 36 minutes remaining. 

Hickman was seemingly able to stop Rock Bridge’s opposition on offense, but they weren’t able to do that any longer when Rock Bridge scored again. Sophomore Nick Timbrook scored the goal, with 27:42 remaining in the game, making the score even closer at 3-2. 

Not much time passed when Hickman had a miscue and they gave up another goal, from their own team; with 27:03 remaining, the game was tied, 3-3. 

Hickman was not able to stop Rock Bridge’s momentum, but, another thing could: the lights on the field. 

In Alumni Stadium, all the lights on the field went out, causing a delay to the game, with 25:20 left to play. The delay would last a while longer, but when play resumed, it appeared the Bruins’ momentum had been stopped, until about ten minutes later. 

Rock Bridge would score once again, to go up 4-3, with 15:44 left in the game. However, the real story wasn’t the goal itself, it was the refereeing on the play. Following after the goal, which could have been called offsides or taken back because of excessive celebration by Rock Bridge, Hickman’s coach Willem Ross, had a frustrated conversation with the line judge. This conversation ultimately ended in the administration of a yellow card to Coach Ross. 

The Kewpies were able to hold Rock Bridge to no more goals. On the other hand, Rock Bridge did the same thing, holding Hickman to no more goals. The game ended and the final score was a victory for Rock Bridge, 4-3.