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Independence, MO —
Van Horn football coach Jeff Tolbert didn’t want his team to celebrate much, if at all, Friday.
Despite a 61-22 romp over an undermanned St. Mary’s team at Truman High School, the coach said his team still had a lot of work to do before next week’s regular-season finale and the first district game.
“We’ve got more work to do,” Tolbert said. “We came out flat tonight. I cautioned our team all week about that. I told them that St. Mary’s would always play us tough, and they did. They don’t have a lot of numbers, but they play hard.”
It took awhile, but senior running back Denzel Strong warmed up midway through the first quarter. He finished with 288 yards rushing and six touchdowns on 18 carries, a 16-yard average per carry.
Through the first two possessions, though, the Trojans had held Strong to just 3 yards on four carries. But Robert Bluett’s 26-yard reception from Anthony Winningham loosened up the St. Mary’s defense.
Strong bolted for a 50-yard touchdown on the next play for 7-0 lead.
Two possessions later on third-and-five, Strong raced 80 yards down the right sideline for his second score. Michael Payne’s PAT made it 14-0 at the end of the first quarter.
“He played well, though at times we didn’t block that well for him,” Tolbert said of Strong, who now has 21 touchdowns this season. “When we did execute up front, he took advantage of it.
“That did give us a spark,” he added of Strong’s first two TDs. “Things started to go our way after that.”
Marc Krantz’s 57-yard run set up Strong third TD, a 1-yard plunge with 6:26 left in the second quarter that made it 20-0.
Bluett broke it open just 10 seconds later when he stepped in front of a Drew Huttinger pass and returned it 25 yards. Demetrius Winston’s two-point conversion reception made it 28-0.
Strong added TD runs of 9 and 4 yards to extend the lead to 41-0 at halftime.
Antonio Johnson gave St. Mary’s a spark when he intercepted a pass and returned it 67 yards for a score to start the second half.
But Strong added TD runs of 57 and 48 yards to make it 55-6 midway through the third quarter.
J.J. Rivers scored the Falcons’ final touchdown on a 6-yard run.
Johnson scampered 45 yards for a TD, and Ozzy Litchfield caught a pass from Huttinger and dove in for a 36-yard score. Huttinger followed both with two-point conversion runs to set the final score.
“We played a lot better as a team in the second half,” St. Mary’s coach Tim Cogan. “We executed a lot better, and hopefully we can take that into next week (against Summit Christian Academy).
Van Horn finishes the regular season against Santa Fe of Alma.
Van Horn football coach Jeff Tolbert didn’t want his team to celebrate much, if at all, Friday.
Despite a 61-22 romp over an undermanned St. Mary’s team at Truman High School, the coach said his team still had a lot of work to do before next week’s regular-season finale and the first district game.
“We’ve got more work to do,” Tolbert said. “We came out flat tonight. I cautioned our team all week about that. I told them that St. Mary’s would always play us tough, and they did. They don’t have a lot of numbers, but they play hard.”
It took awhile, but senior running back Denzel Strong warmed up midway through the first quarter. He finished with 288 yards rushing and six touchdowns on 18 carries, a 16-yard average per carry.
Through the first two possessions, though, the Trojans had held Strong to just 3 yards on four carries. But Robert Bluett’s 26-yard reception from Anthony Winningham loosened up the St. Mary’s defense.
Strong bolted for a 50-yard touchdown on the next play for 7-0 lead.
Two possessions later on third-and-five, Strong raced 80 yards down the right sideline for his second score. Michael Payne’s PAT made it 14-0 at the end of the first quarter.
“He played well, though at times we didn’t block that well for him,” Tolbert said of Strong, who now has 21 touchdowns this season. “When we did execute up front, he took advantage of it.
“That did give us a spark,” he added of Strong’s first two TDs. “Things started to go our way after that.”
Marc Krantz’s 57-yard run set up Strong third TD, a 1-yard plunge with 6:26 left in the second quarter that made it 20-0.
Bluett broke it open just 10 seconds later when he stepped in front of a Drew Huttinger pass and returned it 25 yards. Demetrius Winston’s two-point conversion reception made it 28-0.
Strong added TD runs of 9 and 4 yards to extend the lead to 41-0 at halftime.
Antonio Johnson gave St. Mary’s a spark when he intercepted a pass and returned it 67 yards for a score to start the second half.
But Strong added TD runs of 57 and 48 yards to make it 55-6 midway through the third quarter.
J.J. Rivers scored the Falcons’ final touchdown on a 6-yard run.
Johnson scampered 45 yards for a TD, and Ozzy Litchfield caught a pass from Huttinger and dove in for a 36-yard score. Huttinger followed both with two-point conversion runs to set the final score.
“We played a lot better as a team in the second half,” St. Mary’s coach Tim Cogan. “We executed a lot better, and hopefully we can take that into next week (against Summit Christian Academy).
Van Horn finishes the regular season against Santa Fe of Alma.
