EDGINGTON, Ill. Luke Johnson was faster than 10 of the 11 Comets on the field.

But not Brady Rude.

Rude ran down the Rockridge quarterback after a 56-yard scamper that looked like it would yield a touchdown in the fourth quarter until the junior linebacker from Sterling Newman chased him down at the 12-yard line.

"I don't remember the whole run," Johnson said. "I knew when I got into the open field if there was one person that was going to catch me it was going to be Brady Rude."

Sterling Newman's defense held from there as the top-ranked and defending Class 2A state champion Comets held on to beat the third-ranked Rockets 20-14 Friday night in a Three Rivers cross-conference clash.

"I just do it for my team," Rude said. "Someone's always got to step up and cover for each other. We don't point any figures, we just get the job done. If someone misses, someone gets it, we just move on."

It was a small bit of revenge for the Comets, whose only loss last year came at the hands of the Rockets, 21-9.

Early it looked like there might be a repeat performance as the first half was dominated by the Rockets, who ran 31 plays and gained 200 total yards while holding Newman to just 14 plays and 33 yards.

Johnson, making his first start at quarterback, started his senior season with a bang, running up the middle for a 73-yard touchdown on the second play of the game.

"Our first half was fantastic, our offensive line absolutely dominated," Johnson said. "I think they took it as a challenge. They heard that Newman had the best defensive and offensive line and they took that to heart and they wanted to prove that they were the best offensive and defensive line."

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Rude leads Newman to victory over Rockridge