A depleted Coffee Trojan team battled another long road trip, injuries, and even an allegedly intoxicated official enroute to a 35-25 win over the Veterans Warhawks Friday night at Freedom Field in Warner Robins. The win moved the Trojans to 4-5 on the season and 2-2 in region play. It also punched Coffee’s ticket to the playoffs as the #4 seed.
The Trojans started backup quarterback Tyler Dowling then lost him to a non-throwing shoulder injury in the second half, forcing sophomore Tommy Stanley into action. Running back KJ Debruce left the game in the first half and return man/two-way athlete Tresean Smith didn’t play, either.
As it turned out, Coffee did pretty well with the hand they were dealt – even when that hand included a line judge who was relieved of his duties at halftime due to allegedly being intoxicated (and there were some weird first-half calls).
The Trojans struck first with 7:13 remaining in the first quarter when quarterback Tyler Dowling found Bobby Reynolds for a touchdown. Coffee took a 14-0 lead when Dowling hit DJ Johnson for a score at the end of the first quarter. Early in the second half, the Warhawks cut the lead in half with touchdown that followed a lost Trojan fumble (one of three first-half turnovers for Coffee). Near the end of the second quarter, Dowling and Johnson connected again for a 21-7 Trojan lead. Dowling scored a fourth Coffee touchdown with less than a minute remaining in the first half to go up 28-7. With time winding down in the second quarter, Veterans kicked a 40-yard field goal to cut the Trojans’ advantage to 28-10 at halftime.
Coffee has had trouble scoring in the second half all year long and hasn’t scored more than seven second-half points in any game this season. Once again on Friday, the Trojans managed just seven points in the third and fourth quarters; however, Coffee had a large enough lead that it really didn’t matter much.
The two teams began the third quarter one official short of a full crew due to the line judge’s alleged intoxication. Veterans scored the first points in the third quarter with 4:44 remaining. The Warhawks went for two and made it, cutting the lead to 10.
Neither team scored again until the final minutes of the fourth quarter. Coffee running back Bobby Reynolds broke a long run for a game-clinching 35-18 lead. The Warhawks added a late touchdown of their own to make the score 35-25.
When the final seconds ticked off the clock, Coffee walked away with a 10-point victory along with the fourth and final playoff spot. The Trojans still have one more regular season game left. On Halloween, they host the #1-ranked and undefeated Thomas County Central Yellow Jackets at Jardine Stadium. Kick-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.