The Rockville High School Rams are headed to the championship game for Class M football this Saturday, December 11th. The Rams (10-2) are the second-seed in the Class M playoffs and will play No. 1 seed Killingly (11-0) for the championship at 3 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Stadium, 635 South Main Street, New Britain.
Rockville High School advanced to the championship game by crushing Torrington High School 42-12 Sunday at home in the Class M semifinals. The Rams have not advanced to a championship game since 1995.
“It is clear this is a special group of athletes and under the guidance of Coach Erick Knickerbocker and his assistants they have made us all proud,” Vernon Mayor Dan Champagne said. “I know everyone in Vernon joins me in wishing the team all the best on Saturday.”
In past playoff appearances the Rockville High Team has not been able to play at home because of field conditions. But this year, thanks to taxpayer’s approval of a new turf field at Rockville High, the Rams could beat Torrington in front of a home crowd.
“This has really energized the high school,” Vernon Superintendent Dr. Joseph P. Macary said. “Everybody is talking about it in the hallways and classrooms. It’s a great thing. But even more importantly, what do we want our students and graduates to be? We want them to be resilient. The Rockville High School football team is resilient.”
On the first day of school there was a COVID-19 case and half the team was quarantined.
“We had to cancel a scrimmage,” Dr. Macary said. “We had to move our first game. They lost their first game, and here they are going to the Class M finals at Willowbrook Park in New Britain. What’s better than that? These kids are the real deal. They play very, very well, and I think they are hitting their peak at the right time. We bring our ‘A game,’ watch out Killingly.”
A pep rally is scheduled for Friday afternoon at Rockville High and students, staff and faculty are excited, Rockville High School Athletic Director Jeffrey Farrell said.
“There is certainly a buzz in the building,” he said. “We will have a fan bus and are working on getting a large crowd there to support our team. We are all proud of the team and the work they have done. It’s been a very positive thing for our entire school community and town.”
Tickets are only available online at the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference website