Trojans thrash Eagles
Published 12:41 am Saturday, October 18, 2008
“United we stand, divided we fall. Not one for one, but all for all,” the Charles Henderson Trojans chanted after defeating the Carroll Eagles Friday night.
The chant is the team’s motto, and playing team ball Friday night allowed the Trojans to get a big 62-13 region win over Carroll.
It was all Trojans all night as Charles Henderson dominated the Carroll Eagles until the final buzzer. Now the orange and blue hope they can continue their momentum into next week’s game against Eufaula.
“Obviously we don’t like to beat anybody like that,” Trojans head coach Hugh Fountain said. “Carroll made a lot of mistakes and they gave us so much.”
The Trojans got things rolling early in the game when Antonio Youngblood recovered a Carroll fumble on the opening drive of the game.
“We definitely came out, hit hard and took care of the job,” Youngblood said.
The recovery set up the Trojans on the 27-yard line.
Lequintez Reynolds ran all 27 yards in three plays with a cast on his right hand and the Trojans led 7-0 with 9:26 in the first quarter.
Reynolds played with a broken finger for the second week in a row.
Carroll responded with a three-play drive of its own capped off by a 59-yard touchdown run from Josh James, and early the game looked to be a shootout.
The Trojans responded with an eight-play, 55-yard drive that ended with a 1-yard touchdown run by quarterback K.D. Edenfield.
The Trojans led 14-7, but the game would get out of hand from that point to the final horn.
Edenfield nabbed an interception off of Carroll quarterback A.J. Gissendanner and returned it 37 yards to the 2-yard line.
Jawara White scored the touchdown on first and goal from the 2, and Troy led 21-7 with 5:24 left in the opening quarter.
Carroll came out and punted their next drive away, but the two teams traded fumbles to set up another Trojan touchdown.
The Trojans ran two plays starting from Carroll’s 28-yard line, Corey Dennis rushed 19 yards to open the drive and Edenfield hit Gestavious “Nookie” Barnes for a touchdown through the air.
Barnes ran the completion to the end zone and ended with a big flip for a touchdown.
The Trojans led 28-7 as the first quarter ended.
“K.D. saw I was open and he checked off to me,” Barnes said.
Carroll’s next drive was another fumble and Barnes grabbed it and returned it to Trojan territory.
Six plays later Reynolds was back in the end zone for the Trojans fifth touchdown of the night. With 7:53 left in the second quarter the Trojans were in control leading 35-7.
“Coach Fountain wanted us to come out with intensity,” Reynolds said. “We practiced with intensity all week.”
The Trojans opened the second half with a 10-play, 60-yard drive that ended with Edenfield, the Alabama Sports Writers Association Week 7 Offensive Player of the Week, running the ball 12 yards into the end zone for another touchdown.
The Trojans ran nine plays for 95 yards and another score on their next possession, as Billy Neal punched in a touchdown and the Trojans led 49-7 at the end of the third quarter.
“The second half I was proud of our younger guys,” Fountain said.
Dennis came in at quarterback and blazed 55 yards downfield to boost the score to 55-7, and the extra point attempt was missed with 6:37 on the fourth-quarter clock.
Carroll finally got back on the board when Josh James found the end zone for the second time.
Carroll missed the PAT and the score stood at 55-13 with 1:48 left to play.
The Trojans scored again when sophomore Jeffery Barker raced 32 yards to the end zone.
Neal led all rushers with 99 yards and a touchdown. He caught a 17-yard pass as well.
White added 75 yards and a touchdown through the air and rushed for 71 yards and two touchdowns, Dennis rushed for 50 yards and Edenfield rushed for 32 yards and two touchdowns.
The Trojans face a big test in next week’s matchup against Eufaula. A loss could take the Trojans out of the playoff picture.
“Next week is a must win for us,” Fountain said. “If we don’t win we won’t be there.”
The Trojans seniors want to win the Eufaula game and go back to the playoffs.
“We’ve got to come out focused, strong, and strong-minded next week,” Youngblood said. “It’s a big important game for us, and we have got to have it.”
The Trojans played with intensity early in the Carroll game, and they hope to keep it flowing through the rest of the season.
“We’re going to come out hard like tonight next week,” Reynolds said. “We just have to play as a unit with no turnovers.”
Trojans will be united next week as they face the Tigers in Eufaula next Friday at 7 p.m.