Trojans see positives after 58-34 loss to defending champions
By Chase Collins / Free Press Correspondent
Posted Sep 7, 2018 at 10:30 PM Updated at 12:28 AM
In a sloppy game filled with fumbles from both teams, Northeast Academy was able to win the prolific scoring battle in Bethel Christian Academy’s home opener, 58-34 on Friday night.
Bethel Christian head coach Brick Crowder liked the fight his team showed early on in the first half, and said he feels like there was a lot to build on moving forward from the end of the game as well.
“I like the way we competed in the second half, especially the third quarter” Crowder said. “I was really proud of our defense tonight, they came out and bowed their necks down in the third quarter, after a second quarter where we faced a lot of adversity.”
The first quarter started strong for Bethel Christian as its opened the game with a 60-yard touchdown run from senior wide receiver Cody Dunk, and immediately recovered the onside kick on the next play.
Bethel Christian then scored on that drive, and held an early 14-0 lead. It held a 20-16 lead after one quarter, but Northeast senior running back JT Simmons made sure that didn’t last long. A 65-yard touchdown on the final play of the first half gave Northeast the momentum shift it needed heading into the break.
A scoreless third quarter by both teams made for a tight fourth quarter with plenty of back and forth, but ultimately the defending 1A champion Northeast Eagles were just too much too handle down the stretch.
Northeast head coach Brandon Lanier liked the way his offense performed after going down in an early hole, and said he believed the touchdown by Simmons to end the first half was a big momentum boost to propel his team to the victory. After a slow start, he said he wants his defense to work on a few more things heading into their next matchup.
“We want to tackle better, we want to contain the edge,” he said. “Bethel did a really good job of getting to the edge, and we just want to do a better job of tackling.”
While Crowder said his team had a very strong third quarter defensively, he also said he knows his team has a lot of work to do to get to where they want to be.
“We have a lot to clean up man, on offense as well as defense,” Crowder said. “On both sides of the ball, we gotta be more physical, we gotta come out of our stances lower, we gotta hold on to the ball better. We fumbled the ball a lot in the second quarter, so we have got some things to work on and clean up next week.”
By Chase Collins / Free Press Correspondent
Posted Sep 7, 2018 at 10:30 PM Updated at 12:28 AM
In a sloppy game filled with fumbles from both teams, Northeast Academy was able to win the prolific scoring battle in Bethel Christian Academy’s home opener, 58-34 on Friday night.
Bethel Christian head coach Brick Crowder liked the fight his team showed early on in the first half, and said he feels like there was a lot to build on moving forward from the end of the game as well.
“I like the way we competed in the second half, especially the third quarter” Crowder said. “I was really proud of our defense tonight, they came out and bowed their necks down in the third quarter, after a second quarter where we faced a lot of adversity.”
The first quarter started strong for Bethel Christian as its opened the game with a 60-yard touchdown run from senior wide receiver Cody Dunk, and immediately recovered the onside kick on the next play.
Bethel Christian then scored on that drive, and held an early 14-0 lead. It held a 20-16 lead after one quarter, but Northeast senior running back JT Simmons made sure that didn’t last long. A 65-yard touchdown on the final play of the first half gave Northeast the momentum shift it needed heading into the break.
A scoreless third quarter by both teams made for a tight fourth quarter with plenty of back and forth, but ultimately the defending 1A champion Northeast Eagles were just too much too handle down the stretch.
Northeast head coach Brandon Lanier liked the way his offense performed after going down in an early hole, and said he believed the touchdown by Simmons to end the first half was a big momentum boost to propel his team to the victory. After a slow start, he said he wants his defense to work on a few more things heading into their next matchup.
“We want to tackle better, we want to contain the edge,” he said. “Bethel did a really good job of getting to the edge, and we just want to do a better job of tackling.”
While Crowder said his team had a very strong third quarter defensively, he also said he knows his team has a lot of work to do to get to where they want to be.
“We have a lot to clean up man, on offense as well as defense,” Crowder said. “On both sides of the ball, we gotta be more physical, we gotta come out of our stances lower, we gotta hold on to the ball better. We fumbled the ball a lot in the second quarter, so we have got some things to work on and clean up next week.”
