After an exciting football season, it is time for basketball. The Falcons were coming off a good year and are returning four of their five players from last year’s starting lineup. During the off-season, there was a coaching switch as RHS math teacher Mr. Evola stepped in to take the head coaching role. The Falcons have worked hard throughout the off-season, focusing on conditioning and practices, with hopes of winning all their games; especially the one against that team across town. 

On December 7th, the Falcons traveled to take on Utica Ford for their first home game. They walked into the gym and were immediately heckled by the opposing team’s fans. The Henry Ford fans told the Falcons before the game that they better be ready to lose. However, this didn’t seem to phase Rochester, as the team seemed to play with a chip on their shoulder for the rest of the game. Rochester started out hot, outscoring Ford by 12 points in the first quarter. Senior Matt Stone was a big part of the offense. 

“I thought we played very hard and our defense was a big part of the game”. Senior Matt Stone said. 

The Falcon defense was aggressive all game and got many steals. Each quarter they held the Ford offense to single digits. They went into halftime with a commanding 15 point lead. Rochester didn’t make many adjustments as all they had to do was keep playing hard and rebound. Juniors Rex Batoud and Eli Kalaj were key players coming off the bench, providing plays on both sides of the ball. The Ford offense continued its struggles in the second half, still not making any shots behind the ark. Rochester continued chipping away, as they had the lead the whole game. The final score was 56-27. The leading scorers was Matt Stone with 14 points and Armaan Hussaini with 11. 

Rochester had their first home game of the season against Lutheran Northwest on Thursday, December 9th. Come support our Falcons when they take on the Cougars this Friday at Stoney Creek. This is a highly anticipated game and an expected win for Rochester.