“You get out on the road, two and a half hours, win 21-0. I promise you I ain’t mad,” said Coffee Trojans head coach Mike Coe following the Trojans’ win over the 7A Richmond Hill Wildcats in Richmond Hill Friday night.
You might be wondering why Coach Coe would make a comment such as that following a three-touchdown shutout win over a team two classifications higher. You’d have had to have seen the game.
The Trojans marched up and down the field on the Wildcats in the first half, sustaining long drives, controlling the clock, and scoring on most of their drives. Then the second half rolled around. The Wildcats’ defense stiffened in the third and fourth quarters. And a few miscues kept the Trojans from capitalizing on Richmond Hill mistakes. The end result was that after a rather prolific first half, the Trojans couldn’t find the end zone in the second half.
Coffee took the opening kick and launched a slow, methodical 80-yard drive that ate nearly seven minutes off the clock. The march ended when running back Fred Brown dove into the end zone from three yards out for the first points of the night. Jonah Saylor’s extra point was good and the Trojans were out to an early 7-0 lead.
Pat McCall (14 yard run, 8:59 in the second quarter) and Brown (2:08 in the second quarter) added to the Trojans’ first-half point total to take a 21-0 lead into halftime.
The third quarter opened with junior defensive back Isaiah Johnson picking off Richmond Hill quarterback Kirk Scott and giving his offense pretty good field position. The Trojans, however, could not score. The Wildcat defense stuffed Brown repeatedly and Coffee eventually gave up the ball on downs near the Richmond Hill goal line.
The Wildcats, however, were equally ineffective at scoring points. The Coffee offense may have been sputtering a little but the defense was punishing the Wildcats on every play. They never really threatened the end zone all night.
Though the Trojans didn’t score, the offense managed to control the ball and the clock, and early in the fourth quarter, you could sense the outcome had been decided.
“The defense responded the right way. Offensively, we drove the ball; we just didn’t punch it in. But we’ll get better. Hey, I’m proud of our guys. That’s not a bad football team right there. I’ll take 21-0 all day long,” said Coach Coe.
The Trojans are 5-0 on the season. Coffee has an open date this Friday before the region schedule begins. Next up for the Trojans is Bradwell Institute. That game will be played at Jardine Stadium on October 6. Kick-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.