Colts stampede Trojans in brutal loss

September 25 was a warm and sunny day for our varsity football team. The Trojans were ready to take on their opponent, the James Logan High Colts, but things started to get cold and chilly after the game got started.

The starting quarterback for the Trojans was Brian Tognolini, one of the four senior captains of the team. They were trying to get CVHS a second win of the season with an overall record of 1-3 and tied for fifth place in league.

Right off the bat, the Colts started things off hot in the first quarter with a 60-yard run that eventually led to the first touchdown of the game. Next, with a series of short runs and good passes by Tognolini, CVHS had 15 yards to go to score a touchdown but failed to score, trailing 7-0 at the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter rolled around and it was silent, but halfway through, James Logan scored another touchdown but failed on the extra point. The Colts went on to score one more touchdown, but then they got too greedy and failed at the chance of getting two extra points leaving the score at 19-0 with the Colts leading at the end of the second quarter.

The Trojans came in fresh and charging after the halftime with senior captain Connor Piper running the ball all the way to the six yard line. After that Tognolini capitalized on a pass to the end zone caught by Raekwon Criss to take away the shut out, making it 19-7 after Jack Prettyman got the extra point with a clean kick in.

But then the Colts came charging again. Right after the Trojans’ first touchdown, James Logan replied with a 70-yard touchdown run while avoiding three tackles from the CVHS defense, and later getting the pass in for the extra two points to make it 27-7.

The Trojans weren’t ready to give up just yet as D.J. Taylor responded with a 50-yard run to the ten yard line as he juked and avoided tackles from the defense. Next, Tognolini found Piper open in the end zone to complete a touchdown pass to make it 27-13.

Next was the final quarter, but the Colts weren’t done yet. They went on to score two more touchdowns, but the Trojans kept the pace, adding two more with the efforts of Taylor and Malik Henderson. Ultimately the time decided the game just as CVHS was getting its momentum leading to a loss and making the record 1-4 for our Trojans, with a final score of  40-28 to end the night.

If there was one thing that was lacking that night for the Trojans, it would be the defense; there were a lot of missed tackles that could have been executed.

“We need to be more physical and aggressive on the field. Our defense needs to wrap up and tackle from behind,” said player Dante Sewell.

Our Trojans realize they need to improve their game for next time, and will do anything possible to bring home a win.

“Treat every play like it’s the last play and go all out, be more physical and aggressive,”said Taylor.