By Jim Manion | Correspondent

On a night when the Rootstown High School field received a new name, the honoree would have been proud.

The Rovers improved their season record to 2-0 in convincing fashion with a 33-0 rout of visiting Jackson–Milton on a special night for the community, school district and the family of Robert C. Dunn.

Rootstown controlled the first half and owned a 27-0 halftime advantage as ceremonies took center stage at intermission for the renaming and dedication of Robert C. Dunn Field in memory of the longtime educator, coach and Rootstown civic leader who died on June 30.

It was a career night for senior running back Corey Padrutt, who scored three touchdowns, rushed for 152 yards in 21 carries and recovered a fumble to set up a touchdown.

Rootstown completely controlled the line of scrimmage by rolling up 358 yards of offense, while holding the Bluejays to only 29 total yards. Ten of the 29 rushing plays for J-M went for negative yards. The longest play of the night for the Bluejays was a 17-yard rush by tailback Nathan Skaggs; therefore the other 28 plays netted only 12 yards.

Last season after two games against the same teams the Rovers were 2-0 with a 47-0 scoring margin. This year at 2-0 the Rovers have a 50-7 scoring advantage.

Rootstown head coach Randy McCoy was happy about getting the win into the books, but showed a lot of concern at his team committing 150 yards in penalties.

“We talked about the penalties at half, and then still came out and shot ourselves in the foot (in the second half),” McCoy said. “Naturally we don’t like that. Good football teams don’t make mistakes like that.

“That is discipline and something that you can correct,” McCoy said.

The Rovers owned the first half, rolling up offensive totals of 172 total years, while limiting Jackson-Milton (0-2) to only 39.

Padrutt had 100 yards in only nine first-half carries, while scoring a pair of touchdowns. The 180-pound senior scored on a 5-yard run on the fourth play of the game after he recovered a Bluejays fumble on the opening kickoff. 

Danny Lashley made the hit on the Bluejays’ runner, which Padrutt gobbled up at the 12-yard line. Dillon Murray kicked his first of three extra points for the night.

In the second quarter, Padrutt ripped off a 76-yard touchdown when the right side of the Rootstown line, senior Joey Badini and sophomore Dylan Baldwin, opened a huge hole. Padrutt outraced the Bluejays’ secondary untouched.

Lashley also outran the field when he took a Jackson-Milton punt on the 44-yard line and scampered down the sideline for a 21-0 Rootstown advantage.

The final score of the first half came when fullback Jacob Moore broke several tackles and busted his way into the end zone from 22 yards out on a fourth-down play. The score gave Rootstown a 27-0 lead with only 32 seconds in the half.

Moore finished the night with 60 yards rushing on only five carries. He busted runs of 22, 20 and 10 yards in short-yardage situations. He had an additional 20-yard carry late in the game nullified because of a holding penalty.

The only scoring in the second half came when Padrutt broke a tackle inside the 5-yard line for a 7-yard score. The score was set up by an 18-yard pass from Rover quarterback Tyler Blankenship to Ryan Herman.

Not only did the Rover Stadium get a new name, but also the completion of a new Victory Bell at the south end of the field. Friday night the bell got its initial ringing.