The Trimble Tomcats rolled over rival Miller High School Friday, taking it to the Falcons by a score of 67-0. A mix of the right amount of recuperation last week and a potent offensive attack allowed the Tomcats to cruise to what will likely be their 2011 campaign’s signature win.
“Our team is building and becoming more of a team,” senior quarterback Justin Jewell said of his now 2-2 Tomcats. It feels good but we still have to work on a lot of things.”
Trimble came out of the gates firing, taking only a pair of plays — a long Jewell pass to senior tight end Jacob Hooper and a short run up the gut by senior back Austin Keith — to get the Tomcats on the right track.
“We came out with good intensity on both sides of the ball,” coach Phil Faires said. “I thought our kids did a very good job.”
Trimble never looked back, padding their lead at 42 going into the break.
From halftime on, many of the Tomcat starters took to the sideline instead of the gridiron in hopes of keeping the injuries at bay and giving some of the underclassmen practice in game situations.
As satisfied as the Tomcats could be with their performance, the focus was on making the next step immediately after the victory.
“We are getting better each game,” Keith said. “We always get better as the season goes on — we’re thinking playoffs all the way.”
The team still has a long way to go before making Keith’s statement a reality. Sitting between them and the playoffs are a handful of tough games, the most pressing of which is against Waterford (3-2) next week.
Faires knows just what the Tomcats need to make their offense more of a dual threat.
“We still need to mix things up,” Faires said of his offense. “If we can get Austin, Jewell and the receivers on the same page we will be a handful.”
The night yielded big numbers for the Tomcats’ offense. Keith was the leading producer, running for 117 yards on 11 carries. Sophomore Jacob Koons was second in command on the ground, taking his single carry 63 yards to the house.
Jewell was 3-for-4 behind center, notching 74 yards and an interception. Sophomore Konnor Standley was also highly successful, airing out for 53 yards on a pair of throws.
Standley has the potential to be an x-factor for Faires’ crew down the road this season.
“Teams need to know that’s one of the things that the have to look for,” Faires said. “He’s a heck of a good talent.”
The Falcons’s Jakob Bond, a senior, was their leading producer, running 21 times for 83 yards. Behind him was senior CJ Hall, who compiled 52 yards on 14 touches.
