LOWER LAKE — When Lower fumbled the ball at the John Swett 11-yard line after driving 69 yards on 10 plays and the Indians countered by fumbling it away 10 plays later on the Trojan 7 after driving 73 yards, it was a clear indication that Friday night”s game was going to get out of hand.
… As indeed it was, before the visitors from Crockett left with a 43-20 in the 2009 opener for both of these varsity football teams.
It was a game that featured more offensive yards than could be readily calculated and more turns than an obstacle course.
In the end it was a l-o-n-g game with a lot of long runs.
As promised by Lower Lake coach Stan Weiper, the Trojans showed speed. E.J. Jermany rambled around left end for scoring runs of 93 and 84 yards while gaining more than 200 yards and Roy Percoats zipped 80 yards for another score.
Sadly, though, they were outrambled, outzipped and collectively outdone by Swett”s Ray Evan, who scored five times from various distances and surmounted a rushing total that was well beyond the 300-yard mark.
All of this while the Indians were pushing their total yards in penalties to 140 yards on 21 infractions. And even that was less than the number of misdemeanors they were flagged for. On one play, three officials threw yellow hankies, all against the Indians. The next play three more were thrown.
The Trojans, 1-9 a year ago, established that they had learned to run with the ball. What the young and inexperienced team didn”t establish was that it had learned how to win.
“They”ll come along. We”re just awfully young,” said Weiper, who said in advance of the game that this was like a preseason game. “We don”t need to win, we just need to find that we can play,” he added.
The Trojans” mistakes were as glaring as their running game was glowing. Weiper could only shake his head after a third-quarter pass that obviously had some forethought going for it. Weiper inserted Alphonzos Daniels into the game as a wide receiver for the express purpose of getting open for a fly pattern pass from Stephen Whitcomb, which indeed Daniels did. But Whitcomb”s pass, which was on the money, sailed right through his hands.
But, as stated, this was a game that got out of hand.
