In sports, and football especially, having depth is vital to a team's success. Injuries are part of the game, and having a good backup, especially at key positions, is important. For the Oak Harbor Rockets, injury has come at one of the team's most important positions the past few seasons — quarterback.

Oak Harbor, having gone 4-6 and 2-8 the past two seasons, respectively, now stands at 4-1 overall and 2-0 in the Sandusky Bay Conference. The team's success this season has not come without hardship, though. The Rockets have seen quarterback and co-captain Steve Young miss time this season because of a dislocated kneecap he suffered against Genoa in Week 2. The injury also caused Young to miss the game the following week versus Eastwood.

Filling in for Young against Eastwood and holding down the fort was junior Brian Mallernee, who, in the Rockets' 34-7 over the Eagles, was 7-of-12 passing for 100 yards.

"We knew we had a good game plan for them: Give Jake (Scott) the ball," said Mallernee. "He did a lot of the work."

"He's done a great job," said Oak Harbor head coach Mike May of Mallernee. "He's a very capable quarterback. He would start at a lot of schools at quarterback."

This was not the first time Mallernee had to step in for spot duty. Last season, Mallernee filled in for Young in Weeks 2, 3 and 4.

QB Steve Young. (Press photo by Harold Hamilton/HEHPhotos. lifepics.com)

"Last year, he stepped in and we had three tough games in a row — Genoa, Eastwood and Perkins."

Make no mistake about it, though, Young, who is now back healthy, is the team's quarterback. Since coming back from injury, Young has scored three touchdowns in the team's last two games. In Oak Harbor's hard-fought, 12-9 victory over Perkins in Week 4, Young scored both Rocket touchdowns, including the go-ahead score in the fourth quarter.

"He's gotten better every year," says May of his senior quarterback. "This is his second year in our offense because we switched (systems) last year. He's picked it up really well. His big thing is to manage the offense, manage the game. He's done a good job of that."

Now that Young is back under center, Mallernee has more of a chance to contribute on the opposite side of the ball, where he plays defensive back.

"He's helping us out on defense," said May.

Oak Harbor's philosophy is rather simple: run the ball, play good defense and win the turnover battle. With a great offensive line and one of the area's best running backs, Jake Scott, the quarterback's job is to avoid making mistakes, run the offense and give his team a chance to win. Steady play at quarterback has helped the team this season, as the Rockets have had their share of nail-biters with three of their games being decided by nine points or less.

Stellar play from the offensive line, great performances week in and week out from the defense, as well as the performance of the team's workhorse, Scott, are the primary reasons for team's strong play midway through the season. Scott, a senior running back, who has carried the ball 30 or more times in the team's last three games this season, has rushed for 527 yards and seven touchdowns. He has also scored once on defense, returning a fumble recovery for a critical touchdown in the team's 21-12 opening game victory over Springfield.

"We've been running the ball quite a bit this year," said May, now in this third season at Oak Harbor.

The offensive line has been most important to the team's success, performing brilliantly, controlling the line of scrimmage and opening holes for Scott.

"They've done an outstanding job," said Young. "They worked hard in the offseason. Coach (Scott) Schulte's got them running like a well-oiled machine."

Oak Harbor's success in 2010 can be traced back to its finish in 2009 and the hard work the team put in during the offseason.

After a rough 2-6 start last season, the Rockets defeated SBC powerhouse Clyde 24-19 and beat Sandusky St. Mary Central Catholic 28-7 to finish the season, giving the team some momentum heading into 2010. The Rockets used that momentum, driving themselves to work harder with the hope that better days lay ahead.

"I think all the hard work we put in is finally paying off," said Young.

May certainly sees value in the team having put forth so much effort in the weight room and during two-a-days this summer.

"We have a very invested football team. When you put that much work in, it's hard to give up. I think that's helped (us) in the tough games."

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