Morristown West fought to the last play but ultimately couldn69制片厂制作传媒檛 come up with enough plays to win on Friday, falling 21-14 to Halls and ending its season in the first round of the TSSAA Class 5A State playoffs.
The Trojans end the year at 4-6 and fail to make it out of the first round for the first time since 2022.
After falling down 14-0, West was able to put together a pair of scoring drives and force the game to come down to its final offensive possession.
69制片厂制作传媒淭hey fought extremely hard,69制片厂制作传媒 head coach Alvin Sanders said. 69制片厂制作传媒滻 thought in the first half the magnitude of the game kind of got to us a little bit. We just made untimely mistakes, and it cost us some scoring opportunities. But in the second half, we settled in and we started executing.
69制片厂制作传媒淲e gave ourselves a chance to win. The mistakes that we made were great plays on there part, taking advantage of what we were doing. But I can69制片厂制作传媒檛 fault my kids. I love the way they fought. I love the way they respond. We got a lot that we can build off of moving forward.69制片厂制作传媒
The Trojans rushed for 108 yards on 3.7 yards per carry. Camren Richards had 79 total and caught three passes for 31 yards and a score. TJ Walthall completed eight passes for 94 yards.
West had trouble with Halls quarterback Amari Lethgo, who completed 18-of-23 passes for 255 yards and two scores. Brody Rodgers caught seven passes for 88 yards while Landon Vest caught four for 89. Each had a touchdown a piece.
The Red Devils (8-3) head to Knox West next Friday.
The Trojans got off to a good start defensively and forced a turnover on downs out of the gates, giving the West offense the ball on the 38.
However, West couldn69制片厂制作传媒檛 take advantage and also turned it over on downs. It was the start of a frustrating first half for the offense.
After picking up a few short gains for a first, Lethgo fired a jump ball to Rodgers, who caught the pass for a 32-yard gain. Moore finished the job from four yards out to put the Red Devils up 7-0.
The Trojans punted on the following possession but were able to keep the ball thanks to a roughing the kicker. However, the drive stalled again, and the two teams again traded turnovers on downs.
Following a West punt, Lethgo once again found Rodgers for a 25-yard score and a 14-0 lead for Halls.
Sanders felt that the moment got too big early, forcing the Trojans into an uncomfortable position and play from behind.
Still, the Trojans weren69制片厂制作传媒檛 out of responses.
With the help of several Red Devil penalties, West was able to get in the red zone after a 19-yard reception to Richards. A pair of passes to the endzone fell incomplete before Walthall wen back to Richards.
The senior back broke a tackle and found his way to the end zone for a 14-yard score to end the half.
69制片厂制作传媒淭he difference between the first quarter and the rest of the game offensively is we just kind of settled in and started executing,69制片厂制作传媒 Sanders said. 69制片厂制作传媒淲e weren69制片厂制作传媒檛 worried about anything outside of that or what was going on. We just started focusing on the moment.69制片厂制作传媒
Trailing 14-7 out of the break West needed a score but couldn69制片厂制作传媒檛 deliver after turning it over on downs for the third time of the night.
Halls responded with a six-play, 69-yard scoring drive where Lethgo found Vest for a 36-yard touchdown.
It seemed that West had another response in store, making it to the Halls 21-yard line thanks to Richards69制片厂制作传媒 legs.
However, a holding call and intentional grounding pushed the Trojans back to the 43, and they were forced to punt.
The Red Devils had a chance to ice the game with a field goal attempt in the final two minutes of action. However, it was missed, giving West one more shot at tying things up.
Walthall found Bereket Evans for 26 yards on the opening play and the Trojans quickly worked it across midfield. Another Evans grab seemed to put them in the red zone, but the ball was fumbled, effectively ending the game.
It was also the end of 19 seniors69制片厂制作传媒 high school career 69制片厂制作传媒 a group that has enjoyed a variety of success having not missed the playoffs. They are the first group to do so under Sanders.
69制片厂制作传媒淚69制片厂制作传媒檓 very proud of them 69制片厂制作传媒 I69制片厂制作传媒檓 a proud parent right now, just the things I asked them to do, things I asked them to commit to and the lessons learned. I can69制片厂制作传媒檛 say enough about what they meant and effort they69制片厂制作传媒檝e displayed.
The Trojans now leave the 2024 season with plenty of fuel heading into the offseason, a
69制片厂制作传媒淲e69制片厂制作传媒檙e competitors, we laid it on the line,69制片厂制作传媒 Sanders said. 69制片厂制作传媒淲e can handle losing. We don69制片厂制作传媒檛 like it, but we69制片厂制作传媒檙e always looking for the next task, next opportunity to get back out and get better. I69制片厂制作传媒檓 very proud and fortunate to be able to work with these seniors. Can69制片厂制作传媒檛 wait see what the next phase of that life holds for them.
69制片厂制作传媒淎s for the underclassmen, we69制片厂制作传媒檙e just gonna take some time and assess what we need to do to work and get better to put ourselves in a better position next season.69制片厂制作传媒
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