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By Denise Tucker
Just like they’ve done time and time again this season, the Rolla Bulldogs went to their big man when they needed a big score.
In the 50th minute of the Class 3 sectional game Tuesday night, junior defender Nick Janke headed in a corner kick from freshman Gabe Stanislawski to send the Bulldogs to a 1-0 victory over host Glendale and into the quarterfinals for the first time since 2012.
“It was coming in in slow motion,” Janke said of Stanislawski’s corner. “It was perfect. I saw the gap and just watched the ball right into my head and into the goal. It’s great that we still have that to go back to every game. We can rely on opportunities off of corners and restarts.”
The goal came after the two teams battled in the first half, with Glendale threatening early. But Rolla’s defense was able to keep the ball out of the net, even when the Falcons were on the attack late in the second half.
“You know they’re going to (attack). It’s Glendale,” Rolla coach Mike Howard said. “They’re on their own field. They’re used to winning. You know it’s coming. You’ve just got to try and weather the storm.”
Glendale coach Jeff Rogers was confident in his team’s game plan.
“We put some smaller, technical kids up front and they really kind of got underneath them,” Rogers said. “Grant (Compere) had that first look off the post in the first five minutes. Our game plan was there; our kids really played a great game. We’ve kind of done this all year. We really play well, the result just doesn’t show and it’s hard this time of year because the other team gets to move on.”
And it’s the first time that the Bulldogs, who improved to 18-5-3 on the season, have moved on to the quarterfinals since 2012, when Howard’s seniors were in eighth grade.
“I’m just happy for these kids,” Howard said. “For the last two years, we weren’t very good by our standards at Rolla. They’ve worked hard, so I’m proud of them.”
“It’s huge,” said Janke, who also kicks for Rolla’s football team. “You can tell all the guys’ spirits are still high and we’ve been on a roll lately this season. We’re just hoping to keep it up.
“The last two years we lost the first game of districts and to finally have a postseason run is really big.”
And the Bulldogs are eager to take the program to the next level.
“Success breeds success and that’s a great thing,” Howard said. “But these kids not winning for a couple of years made them very hungry. They’re composed, they’re relaxed. That’s the way they’ve played all season and that’s how we’ll approach this quarterfinal game, as well. Nothing too fancy. Just roll the ball out and stay chilled and ready to play. Seems to be a good formula for us.”
Rolla will take that formula to Carthage (21-4), a 2-1 winner over Carl Junction, for a quarterfinal matchup on Saturday.
But Janke has a previous engagement on Friday night when the Rolla football team faces Parkway West in a district championship game.
Janke takes it all in stride.
“It’s really not that big,” Janke said of the transition between sports. “I get a little extra practice on the long kickoffs.”
Rogers said the Falcons, who finished the season 17-9, have nothing to hang their heads about.
“Our seniors played in two final fours and they won four districts, lost last year in quarters and lost this year in sectionals, so I couldn’t be prouder of them,” Rogers said. “They left their mark. That’s all we ask of our seniors is to leave your mark for others.
“It’s sports and we wish Rolla well. That’s a good group. Their senior class has gotten beaten for three years in a row, so sometimes those things just come around for you.
“It’s a loss (for Glendale), but these are the kind of things that will motivate our kids to work in the offseason and come back and play at a high level.”
