The Hamilton County Trojans saw their playoff hopes come to an end this past Friday, dropping a 34-12 decision to the FSU Seminoles.
The difference in this game after looking at the stats was third down conversions. FSU was able to turn key third down and long situations into big plays, while the Trojans were unable to sustain drives.
There were many outstanding efforts turned in by the Trojans in the game.
Doc Hendry played one of his best games on the line this year getting 10 tackles and assisted on a huge sack on the quarterback. The Seminoles had a hard time blocking the Trojans lineman.
Naturally Whoe Roberson played another outstanding game for the Trojans as he has done all year playing great on special teams and making key tackles on the line.
Eddie Battles was effective on both sides of the ball making three tackles, hurried the QB, and broke up a pass. He also had key first down runs that kept the Trojans touchdown drives alive.
Cohen made three key stops on big Seminole drives preventing further damage, and made three beautiful catches, one for a 40-yard TD pass in double coverage.
The second touchdown drive for the Trojans was a result of the efforts of backup QB Mike Casey. It would be his only possession of the game, but after a 13-yard run by Sowell, a 17-yard burst by Mitchell, and another great run by Sowell for 13 yards, Casey did not allow the sack the play prior to get in his way of launching a nice 40 yard strike to Cameron. That is pretty good backup for the Trojans it would seem considering that Casey is only a sophomore.
Lathaniel Sowell would get the Trojans on the scoreboard late in the first half with an eight yard run. He caught three passes in the game for key first downs, and had five first down runs, gaining close to 100 yards in the game.
Kirkland Mitchell did a great job on special teams with a great return of a kickoff getting behind his blockers, and was able to bust a couple of first down runs.
Chance Windham left it all on the field making nine tackles, with one for a loss, and sacked the QB once.
Another consistent Trojan that played a great game was Desmond Williams. He was outstanding in the secondary against a very good passing team providing great coverage that led to either sacks or incomplete passes. He had seven tackles for the game, and made a great return on special teams.
Joe Gandy made his presence felt early getting a sack on the Seminoles first possession. Gandy made four tackles, and broke up a pass. He also had two nice runs, with one of those going 11 yards and a key first down keeping a drive alive.
The Trojans fell to 5-4 on the season, and will now try to make this season one to remember next week at the home stadium when the Suwannee Bulldogs come to town in a huge rivalry game.
The Trojans have been looking to this game since the start of the season. This would certainly be a great ending that would give the Trojans a huge boost going into the 2006 season.
Both the Trojans and Bulldogs have had their problems with consistency on the offensive side of the ball, but both teams bring a hard hitting defensive unit with a lot of speed. This game could be a 3-0 contest. It should be a good one with a ton of intensity. Both teams were eliminated last Friday, but will make no difference to these two teams as this will be considered their playoff game. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. at the Trojans home field.
