By LIONEL TIPTON

ROSE HILL, Kansas – It’s Fall Festival time in Rose Hill, and the Rockets made sure things got off to a rousing start Friday night.

With carnival rides just beyond the Rose Hill stadium, the Rockets football team set the tone for a celebratory mood with a 42-12 romp over Circle.

And the fun is just beginning, first-year Rose Hill coach Reece Petty said.

“I’m new here, so this (Fall Festival) is all new to me,” Petty said. “I see all this stuff set up, and it’s ‘Oh wow, this is pretty cool.’

“It’s going to be a fun weekend for the whole community.”

That fun weekend begins with the Rockets appearing in a parade, Petty said.

“We’ll be in a parade, then we’ve got a little scrimmage with the grade-school kids against the high school kids,” he said. “That will be a flag-football game, and we’ll have a little fun with that.”

Petty noted the efficiency on offense. The Rockets put up points on their first five drives with a field goal and four touchdowns. They didn’t need to punt until late in the second quarter.

“Our guys came out early, and we set a good tone,” he said.

The dominating triumph went a long way toward erasing the bad memories of a week ago, when Rose Hill jumped to an early lead over McPherson, only to watch the Bullpups come back and escape with a stunning 37-35 victory.

“We competed really good last week against a really good McPherson team at their house,” Petty said. “We were really proud of the guys for that, and we wanted to build off of that. We feel like we’re getting some momentum and doing a lot of good things. We want to keep building on that.”

The Rockets (3-3) climbed back to the .500 mark with two regular-season games remaining by unleashing a devastating ground game on Circle.

Seniors K.J. Jones and Kai Kirchhoff-Jones took turns punishing the Thunderbirds’ defense, combining for 352 rushing yards in 21 carries. They had 268 of those yards in the first half, when Rose Hill rode the two to a 29-6 halftime lead, scoring two touchdowns each. Kirchhoff-Jones rushed for 135 of the yards, and Jones had 133.

“They’re doing a great job, and our offensive line is doing a great job up front for them, so that was good to see,” Petty said.

The Rockets were poised to get into the end zone on their first possession, reaching the Circle 1, but penalties pushed them back to the 6, and junior Joshua Herrera hit a 22-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead.

On the T-Birds’ next possession, a fumble on their second play from scrimmage was recovered by Rose Hill at the Circle 18. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty moved the Rockets back to the T-Birds 33. Jones then raced 32 yards to the Circle 1, but he ran in on the next play for Rose Hill’s first TD and a 10-0 lead.

Sophomore Jason Smith then got Circle on the board with a 63-yard run, but Rose Hill returned the kickoff to its 45, and Kirchhoff-Jones scored from 7 yards out, giving the Rockets a 16-6 lead after one quarter.

Circle turned the ball over on downs on its next possession, and the Rockets took over at their 45. Two plays later, Jones’ 32-yard run pushed the lead to 22-6.

But Kirchhoff-Jones wasn’t to be outdone. He capped a 94-yard drive in four plays with a 74-yard scamper for the 29-6 halftime advantage.

Jones struck again for his third touchdown of the night on a 10-yard run only 1½ minutes into the third quarter, and both called it a night after that quarter as Rose Hill got its reserves some playing time.

With potent weapons like them, Petty knows he is sitting pretty.

“It’s fun to see them out there,” he said. “It does a lot, because they play defense, too (and they’re) keeping each other fresh. That helps out a ton. Building off of each other, and they just do a real good job out there together.”

The Rockets’ last touchdown came on a pretty 8-yard pass from junior quarterback Zander Ford to senior Sebastian Bentley.

And, to top it all off, it was fittingly the Rockets’ Senior Night.

For Circle, which has lost five straight since its season-opening 55-8 rout at Field Kindley (Coffeyville), two sophomores did their best to provide some offense.

Smith gained 121 yards in 14 carries, including his 63-yard TD scamper on a pitchout. The pitch play was pretty much the T-Birds’ most effective offensive strategy.

Cole Wilbur, making his second straight start at quarterback, completed seven of 10 passes in the second half, mostly against Rockets’ reserves. He finished with 13 completions in 22 attempts for 135 yards, including a 19-yard touchdown pass to senior receiver Jay Bonewitz in the fourth quarter.

Circle played the game without standout running back Franklin Ekue, who had to sit out after being ejected in last week’s loss to Winfield. Ekue’s loss was also felt in other ways, as he also is a critical part of the Thunderbirds’ defense as well as handling place-kicking chores.

For Rose Hill, the regular-season home schedule is finished, and the Rockets will hit the road next Friday to take on another AVCTL Division IV powerhouse in Wellington (5-1). Rose Hill’s three losses have been to Andale (the only team to beat Wellington this year), Wichita Collegiate and McPherson, an AVCTL Division III school. After Wellington, the Rockets will close the regular season at Independence (2-4).

Jones said it was frustrating to lose to McPherson last week in the manner Rose Hill did.

“We should have won last week,” he said. “We didn’t, and I guess we just came back against a great team and put a win together.”

The Division IV landscape is loaded with land mines. Bring them on, Petty said.

“We wouldn’t want it any other way,” he said. “It’s good competition (and) it’s a lot of fun, it’s good to play good competition. It gets us ready for the (Class 4A) playoffs.”

Circle will finish its regular-season home schedule next week against Fort Scott (1-5), which will bring a three-game losing streak to Towanda. The T-Birds will finish the regular season at Augusta (1-5).

Petty said his first season with the Rockets has been a satisfying one.

“We’re trying to do things the right way,” he said. “That starts with the locker room and the culture. And, we’re starting to find our identity on offense. Our defense is really tough, and they’ve been playing well all year long. We’ve got a lot of playmakers on that side of the ball.

“We feel really good about where we’re at and where we’re going.”

Rose Hill 42, Circle 12

Circle 6 0 0 6 – 12
Rose Hill 16 13 13 0 – 42

RH – FG Herrera 32
RH – Jones 1 run (Herrera kick)
Cir – Smith 63 run (kick failed)
RH – Kirchhoff-Jones 7 run (kick blocked)
RH – Jones 32 run (kick failed)
RH – Kirchhoff-Jones 74 run (Herrera kick)
RH – Jones 10 run (Herrera kick)
RH – Bentley 8 pass from Ford (pass failed)
Cir – Bonewitz 19 pass from Wilbur (run failed)

RUSHING – Circle: Smith 14-121-1, Bonewitz 1-10, Wilbur 10-(-20). Totals: 25-111. Rose Hill – KJ Jones 14-194-3; Kirchhoff-Jones 7-158; Ford 2-12; Hernandez 6-19; Stuhr 1-7; Marlau 3-4. Totals: 33-394.

PASSING (C-A-YDS-TD-INT): Circle – Wilbur 13-22-137-1-1. Rose Hill: Ford 4-10-60-1-0; Hill 0-1-0-0-0.

RECEIVING –Circle: Sawyer 5-44, Smith 3-44, Bonewitz 3-26-1, Oliver 1-17, Cosby 1-6. Rose Hill: Bentley 2-32, Dees 2-28.