In the very first home game of the 2023-2024 season, the Trojans went up against the 1-1 Thatcher Eagles. This was a big game because the Eagles were the team that beat Valley Christian in the playoffs last year, meaning the Trojans came into this game ready to claim victory!
In the first quarter, play went back and forth with Thatcher having more drives, but the Trojans always stopping them on fourth down. Unfortunately, when the ball was in the Trojans' possession, the offense couldn't get the ball moving. The first quarter ended with no score for either team. The second quarter was much of the same; the Trojans did have an opportunity to score a field goal, but senior kicker Wilson Kaehr sent his kick wide left, ending the half tied 0-0.
Going into halftime, the team needed to get fired up. Senior safety Aidan Richards stated, "Coach told our team to keep playing tough. Defense needed to keep doing their thing and offense needed to step it up."
During the third quarter the Eagles scored the first touchdown of the game along with a 2-point conversion. On the very next possession senior Wide Receiver Cole Bastian caught a touchdown pass ss from senior quarterback Gunnar Link for the Trojans, along with a 2-point conversion, tying up the game 8-8. These were the only points scored during the third quarter, but there were good plays throughout, including a 10-yard pass thrown from Link to sophomore wide receiver Asher Hanzal.
Hanzal stated, "we stayed disciplined throughout the game and didn't let down when the other team scored. We stayed strong."
In the fourth quarter the Eagles scored another touchdown, making the game 14-8. The Trojans had the ball with 1:40 left on the clock and no timeouts left. Valley Christian had the ball 1st and 10 on the opponent's 21-yard line with 48 seconds left. From there the Trojans scored their second touchdown with a beautiful pass from Link to Hanzal, who made a beautiful catch in the endzone. Kaehr put the Trojans ahead by one point on a successful extra point attempt with 43 seconds remaining.
With little time remaining, the Eagles threw two long passes that put them in the red zone 1st and goal at the 5-yard line. The Eagles made two attempts to score. On their first play Thatcher ran up the middle and were were stopped just a yard short of the goalline. The Eagles called their final timeout and then on the last play of the game, the Trojans stopped the quarterback from scoring in a rugby-like scrum.
The Trojans ran off the field celebrating as the game ended with a score of 15-14 and a Trojan victory!
This victory puts the team with a record of 3-0 to start the season and the guys were excited not only to get their first win at home, but for it to be against Thatcher. They were happy to avenge last year's playoff loss.
The celebration continued at the StuCo sponsored 5th Quarter Social afterward in Bradley Gym with a well received Silent Disco.
