The Trojans had a tough Friday night against the Mojave Rattlers and posted a 50 to 6 loss. It was the team’s second road game in a row.
The Rattlers had too much speed with their star running back, Ty Flanagon, rushing for 252 yards on nine carries. Flanagon has over 500 yards in just 3 games. Mojave improves to 3-0 on the season and 1-0 in conference play. The Trojans are 1-2 overall and 0-1 in conference.
Trojans Coach Joe Clayton said speed and injuries kept the Trojans out of this game. “We need to get healthy, tackle better and somehow get faster. We were missing three starting defensive backs,” he said.
Peter Davis, the PVT remote sports writer, said the game was a big disappointment for the guys. “They started out well, and when things slipped the other way they seemed to just not have the spirit to play—they have what it takes to beat Mojave. That said, Mojave has some really fast and agile runners who were able to intercept passes and run the ball all the way for a touchdown. Also, their guys were all over our guys, blocking passes or intercepting passes,” Davis said.
The Trojans quarterback, TJ Milk, was 10/27 for 182-yards passing. The Trojans rushing attack faltered with only 60 yards because Milk had -46 yards on the day. Usually the Trojans like to pound it out on the ground, but it wasn’t to be against Mojave. Up until the game with Mojave, the Trojans averaged 181 yards per game on the ground. The Trojans were forced to take it to the air and Milk gave up four interceptions.
For the Trojans, this was the first game where they turned the ball over significantly. In the game, Mojave scored first on a 15-yard run. The Rattlers would score three more times in the first. They had two more rushing touchdowns and one passing. Ty Flanagon rushed for two touchdowns during this quarter.
In the second quarter, the Rattlers were up 44-0. Flanagon had his last big rush of the game for a 99-yard TD run.
Late in the second the Trojans got on the board with 6:19 to go in the second. England caught a 51-yard pass from Milk for 6 points. The PAT kick failed.
Lamaja Cunningham came in to finish the game and scored late in the second and had a 20-yard pass in the third for six more points. The Rattlers scored 44 points in the first half and only 6 in the second, but that is all they needed.
For the game, England had 7 receptions for 109 yards, Deon Estes had 2 receptions for 62 yards and Kyle Lindberg had 1 reception for 11 yards. Thomas Gascoigne was the big rusher for the Trojans with 10 carries for 42 yards.
The Trojans are home this week for homecoming against Western who is 0-3. Western lost to Sierra Vista 64-0. The Beatty Hornets played Spring Mountain and lost 16-0. The Hornets are 1-1 and play Quest Academy in non-conference play this Friday at 3:30 p.m.
Tonopah won its game against Quest Academy 59-40.