←
→

Trojans fall to Raiders in season opener

Posted On 2 Sep, 2017

 

 

Staff Reports

Camden McFarland catches a pass thrown by Ty Norris in the second quarter, scoring Girard’s lone touchdown of the night. JOYCE KOVACIC

​The Girard Trojans football team lost a hard-fought battle against the Frontenac Raiders 33-6 in their first game of the 2017 season Friday, Sept. 1.

​In the first half, Girard’s new defense proved ready to compete, denying the Raiders any points until the second quarter.

​Frontenac scored early in the second quarter, bringing the score to 6-0 after a missed field goal.

The Trojan’s responded, however, retaliating with a strong offensive drive.

The score was brought to 6-6 after Ty Norris scrambled and made a pass to Camden McFarland from the 20-yard line to earn the Trojan’s first and only touchdown of the night.

Following the Trojans’ touchdown, Frontenac responded with another offensive drive ending with a 40-yard pass by Peyton Brown to Jake Wilbert in the end zone, bringing the score at the end of the first half to 13-6.

Girard quarterback Kyler Siebert scans for an open receiver during the Girard Trojans’ season-opener against Frontenac Friday, Sept. 1. The Trojans battled hard throughout the game but fell to the Raiders 33-6. JOYCE KOVACIC

Girard only trailed Frontenac by seven points at the end of the first half, but the Trojans’ offense struggled to cover ground in the second half, fighting turnovers and dropped passes.

Their defense struggled with Frontenac’s passing game and allowed two additional touchdowns by Frontenac in the third quarter and one in the fourth to bring the final score to 33-6.

 

Despite Girard’s struggles against Frontenac in the season-opener, the team showed potential on both sides of the ball and plans to build off of their first matchup.
Regarding the game, Coach Neil Philpot said, “I thought we played hard and executed pretty well in the first half of our first game. In the third quarter it looked like we got a bit winded and a few mistakes were made that opened up the score a bit.

“We now have a benchmark of where we are at, and we will make many improvements this next week because of what we have seen. Frontenac is a pretty good team, and they deserve a lot of credit. However, I think in a few weeks, as we improve our craft and become more comfortable with some things, we too will be pretty good!”

The Trojans will host the Riverton Rams next Friday, Sept. 8.