The Trimble Tomcats (1-2) notched their first win of the season Friday, escaping 18-14 against South Gallia (2-1).
The Tomcats benefitted from a 62-yard reverse play midway through the fourth quarter that caught their opponents off guard and allowed them to take the lead for good.
Receiver Wyatt Deak initially posed as a blocker for the reverse play before tiptoeing his way into unguarded territory and hauling in a catch from passer Konnor Standley.
“Deak was on our side and I watched him and he played it perfectly. It’s hard to tell a receiver to look like you’re blocking and take off,” Trimble coach Phil Faires said. “Konnor did a good job leading her in and that’s a tough catch — I’d probably drop that nine out of 10 times.”
The Tomcats were not as successful early on as they fumbled on three of their first five plays.
“We’ve got a long way to go,” Faires said. “If we play like that against Coal Grove, we’re about to get hurt next week.”
Facing an early 6-0 deficit, senior quarterback Justin Jewell took advantage of senior Austin Keith’s 20-yard run to the one yard line, keeping the ball for himself and diving into the end zone to even the score.
The Rebels and Tomcats stayed deadlocked until a few minutes into the third quarter when Keith scored from six yards out.
South Gallia kept the game close down the stretch, but Trimble sealed the win with defensive stands in the third and fourth quarters.
“We told the kids that emotion we had right there the last couple of series, especially that last one, we’ve got to really build off that. That’s how we have got to practice. And we have to play every quarter — we can’t wait until the fourth quarter,” Faires said.
Keith was the game’s leading producer, gaining 117 yards on 22 carries. He also had three fumbles, an area of concern for Faires.
“He runs hard but he’s just not finishing his runs off. … We can’t give teams three or four fumbles and win the game. We were just lucky our trick play worked,” Faires said.
South Gallia sophomore Ethan Spurlock took to the ground 19 times for 114 yards as well.
Cory Haner, the Rebels’ senior quarterback, had 95 passing yards in eight completions, while Jewell completed two of seven passes for 34 yards.
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