It’s been four years since John Fogleman was 1-0.
Something as simple as winning the first game of the season, something some programs would take for granted, comes as a relief to Fogleman and his Little Rock Catholic squad.
The Rockets defeated top-5 ranked North Little Rock 23-6 two weeks ago behind sound defense, senior quarterback Sam Sanders and some timely special teams plays.
Sanders completed 9 of 23 passes for 130 yards and 1 touchdown. He also ran for 31 yards and one touchdown.
The Rockets’ offense wasn’t sensational, but it didn’t have to be. Catholic kicker Will Aaron nailed two 39-yard field goals. The special teams unit also came up big when junior Christian Potts blocked NLR’s punt attempt in its second possession.
Catholic, like almost all of the 6A-East, was off last week. This provided a brief moment before conference play starts to reflect on an achievement many teams wouldn’t think twice about.
“What made the off week good was we were coming off a victory, and, obviously, a big one,” Fogleman said. “We got the opportunity to enjoy that.” “It was huge, especially because it was North Little Rock,” Sanders said. “It felt really good. We haven’t beaten them since my freshman year. It’s always good to start off 1-0.” 2018 was the last time Catholic opened up with a win, defeating Sylvan Hills 20-2. In the three years since that win, Catholic has fallen to Jonesboro in the opening week each season.
Up next for Catholic is 10 -straight weeks of 6A-East games, starting with Greene County Tech tonight. The Eagles are 1-0 after cruising to a 35-0 win against Paragould two weeks ago.
There’s excitement around the Rockets’ practices about joining the 6A-East after years in the 7A-Central and facing the nine new teams they now share a conference with.
“There’s just so many unknowns,” Fogleman said. “We were in the other conference for a while. We knew everybody so well, you knew what everybody was doing. So this is just completely new.” “We don’t really know what to expect. But we know that they’re big, they can move and they got some studs. We’re excited to play,” Sanders said.
Fogleman said he feels there’s more parity in the new conference.
“I think there’s just a lot more balance in 6A than in 7A,” Fogleman said. “There’s obviously not the powerhouse of Bryant and Conway and stuff, but from top to bottom it’s probably a little bit more balanced.”