South and Trail Clash
J. C. Tilton
Both Trail and South have been in search of their first CCC win of the season. Trail won their opener over Dayton Christian and have not been able to garner a W since then. South has not been able to climb out of the basement and was looking to use Trail as a step up. Despite their records, fans that attended were treated to two teams that fought tooth and nail for a win that was decided in overtime.
Josh Flynn cracked the endzone first when he ran a quarterback keeper 53 yards for a touchdown early in the first quarter. It was homecoming night and this run electrified the atmosphere even more. However, Trail was not intimidated and on their possession Moses threw a strike that netted a TD. The extra point was good and Trail was up 7-6. When Trail next got the ball a broken play resulted in another long play for a TD. The ball was fumbled in the backfield and Moses picked it up and rumbled over 50 yards for a another score - Trail was up 13-6 as they missed their PAT. The Panthers regained the ball before halftime and advanced to midfield. Josh Flynn completed a long pass that tied the Panthers with Trail 13-13.
In the second half both teams exchanged possessions. A critical play occurred when South punted on their first possession of the half. The ball touched the leg of a Trail blocker and became live. Panther Chad Wentlender fell on the pigskin at the Trail 21 yard line. Justin Flynn took care of things from there as he peeled off a 21 yard to give South the lead. The PAT failed, but South was up 19-13.
Trail must have adjusted as they began to ring up the yardage on their next possession. They advanced to the South 27, but the Panther defense stiffened and moved Trail backwards - finally forcing a punt. Neither team managed to do much in the remainder of the 3rd quarter.
Trail put the Panther lead in jeopardy as they methodically moved the ball down field in the early 4th quarter. They moved the ball to the TVS 6 yard line where it was first down. Brett Marker gave the Panthers some breathing room as he tackled a Trail runner for a loss, making it 2nd and goal from the 9. Trail managed to advance back to the 4 where an illegal procedure made it 4th and 9. A Trail pass was stopped short of touchdown when the receiver was tackled on the one. South ran 3 plays and punted, giving Trail excellent field position on the 40. This time the Blazer offense would not be denied as they moved the ball into the endzone for a score. On the all important PAT attempt the kick was signaled as good - but the Blazers had too many men on the field. The penalty moved the ball back and the second PAT failed - now the score was knotted 19 all.
Time was a factor as TVS got the ball with 2:34 on the clock. Josh Flynn connected with brother Justin Flynn for a first down pass. Spencer Ervin had a good run and Armstrong made a catch that was 4 yards short of another first. On a 4th and 4 at midfield South elected to punt. Joe Maleski nailed the punt returner at the 22 yard line, giving Trail a long field. When Trail elected to air it out, Anthony Armstrong picked off a Moses pass and suddenly South was back in business. But with 3 seconds left, Nathan Pope ended South's hopes of a last second score when he picked off a South pass.
In the overtime Trail got the ball first and were able to score and pick up the PAT. South was able to move the ball inside the 10 and then had 4th and a yard to go. They were unable to pick it up and the game ended in a 26-19 victory for Trail.
Coach Meyer was proud of his team and thought that they played hard. “The offense showed what we are capable of, we had several good plays that went for long yardage. Our execution is moving in the right direction. On defense we need to tackle better and stop the run.” I pointed out that they lost Koeller for the season, did that leave a hole? Coach Meyer responded that they are working in J.T. Stone and Justin Flynn at the linebacker position. He did have some players step it up on defense. Coach Meyer was pleased with Brett Marker who had 6 tackles for loss, a season high for him.
Leading stats: Rushing: Josh Flynn 14-71yds; Spencer Ervin 14-69yds. Passing: Josh Flynn 8-13 109yds 1TD. Receiving: Anthony Armstrong 2-56 1TD; Scott Leedy 2-33. Tackles: Josh Flynn 12; Brett Marker 9 (6 for loss); Bryan Dalton 11. Anthony Armstrong 1 Int.
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