If the game of football were won exclusively in the first and last five minutes, Trimble High School could have walked away with a win Saturday night in the Division VI regional quarterfinal. But the Tomcats had no such luck against a tough Symmes Valley squad that was able to put together a more complete effort en route to a 28-19 win.
On the opening play of the game, a first-and-10 from inside their own 40, the Tomcats executed a perfect hook-and-ladder play, which was good for 44 yards. Only four plays later, Trimble was on the board after a short touchdown run. The Vikings were able to get a hand on the extra-point attempt to keep the score at 6-0.
Trimble then stuffed the Vikings in the red zone on their opening drive, forcing a turnover on downs on the Tomcats’ 10-yard line.
From there on out, things did not go quite as smoothly as the Tomcats would have liked.
Symmes Valley junior Alec Herrell cashed in on an outside run from the Tomcats’ 48-yard line to give the Vikings the advantage heading into halftime.
On the first play of the second half, Viking running back D.J. Miller let Trimble know he was all business with a bruising 21-yard run that set the tone for the remainder of the game.
The sophomore back put the Vikings up for good with a 16-yard run on the next series, which he ended emphatically with a strong second effort that allowed him to reach the end zone.
After a Trimble three-and-out, Herrell took the Vikings’ first play of the drive to the house, cashing in on solid downfield blocking for a 54-yard rushing score. It was Symmes Valley’s second touchdown in under a minute of play.
Trimble senior quarterback Justin Jewell gave his team a shot to win down the stretch by combining with sophomore Konnor Standley and junior Wyatt Deak for a handful of playbook pitch-and-catches. Regardless of his rushing touchdown and Deak’s 14-yard touchdown reception with 4:29 remaining in the game, the Tomcats were unable to do what it took to come out on top.
Miller iced the victory for the Vikings, picking off Jewell’s first pass attempt of the Tomcats’ final drive. He had also scored on the previous play, a 17-yard reception.
Both the Vikings’ Rusty Webb and Tomcats’ Phil Faires shared similar sentiments about the game, one in which the teams shared a common effort and intensity.
“I’m proud of these guys. They could have folded after they were 0-2,” Faires said, in reference to the team’s early struggles against Nelsonville-York and Wahama.
Miller was the game’s leading producer, racking up 123 yards on 13 carries. His counterpart, Herrell, also broke triple digits on the ground, taking his 12 carries for 102 yards.
For the Tomcats, Standley led the offensive attack with 65 yards on seven carries and five catches, which were good for 65 yards. Senior back Austin Keith barely eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark on the season, putting up 47 yards on 15 carries.
Jewell had perhaps his best passing game of the season, barring a pair of interceptions. He completed 10 of his 19 attempts, totaling 208 yards.
Symmes Valley will move on to face Beallsville Saturday. The Blue Devils are 9-2 on the season and are fresh off a 27-14 win against Portsmouth Sciotoville.
The Tomcats finished their season with a 7-4 record.
jr992810@ohiou.edu
