Give these Rockets a hand

Bobby Clapper’s voice trailed off, the sound escaping with his gray puffs of breath into the cold night air.

“We have a chance,” Clapper said. He repeated the same line again for himself more than anyone else.

“We have a chance.”

Then a smile split his mud-spackled cheeks.

“That’s all we wanted.”

A 24-15 victory over Rockridge on Friday night provided the chance for Clapper and the Rock Falls Rockets to qualify for the playoffs.

You read that right.

Rock Falls sits at 5-4. It’s the first time since 1992 that the Rockets have finished the regular season with a winning record.

If the playoff point puzzle works out Saturday, they’ll also make the postseason for the first time in 17 years.

“This is a huge win for us,” Clapper said. “Nobody ever expected us to do this. I’ve been around the last few years and we never even dreamed of making the playoffs.”

Clapper has been a mainstay on the varsity since his freshman year. He finished Friday’s game in grand fashion.

The 265-pound senior sunk his claws around a Rockridge fumble with 10 seconds left. Rock Falls was able to kneel down to run out the clock.

“I am so very happy for a kid like Bobby Clapper,” Rock Falls coach Jay Mammosser said. “He’s been with us for four years and been through times that I don’t want to call dismal, but they weren’t anywhere as good as this. He kept working hard.”

Rock Falls has 36 playoff points. That should put the Rockets right near the cutoff line.

That hasn’t stopped them from hoping. Players left the locker Friday night wearing gray T-shirts with “Rockets playoff football” on the front and the slogan “1 team, 1 dream” on the back.

They’ll meet Saturday as a team to watch the selection show. No matter the outcome, the Rockets will celebrate a successful season.

“We’ll probably know by the time we there if we’re in,” Mammosser said. “But we’ll do it anyway. We want to show the kids how much we appreciate what they’ve accomplished this season. It’s a big step for the program.”