It was a fine night for football in Seneca last Friday night when the Indians hosted their archrivals the North Crawford Trojans.
Seneca wasted little time building an insurmountable lead on the way to a 44-0 homecoming victory.
Indian running back John Alanis appeared unstoppable for most of the game. He scored the first touchdown on three-yard run on the team’s first possession.
Alanis would go on to score three more touchdowns before it was over. The powerful senior running back wound up averaging almost 12 yards per carry as he ran for 239 yards on 20 carries.
Seneca Quarterback Jordan Boone scored the second touchdown of the game on a 24-yrd run and Troy Trautsch kick extra points on each of the first two touchdowns. The score was 14-0 after the first quarter and 32-0 at halftime.
The Indians smarting from a 14-8 loss to Kickapoo-LaFarge the week before were most definitely prepared for the Trojans Friday night.
Seneca coach Steve Kramer felt a lot of the team’s success came from a “better job of blocking” against the Trojans.
“we stressed ‘blocking to the whistle’,” Kramer said later about the Indian’s preparation the week leading up to the game. “We stressed playing defense to the whistle—not giving up to soon.”
Kramer felt the offensive line’s control of the line of scrimmage creating holes fro running backs was a major factor in the Indians’ victory. He also credited the Seneca receivers with a good job of downfield blocking
There weren’t many bright spots for North Crawford in Seneca Friday night. In fact, the Trojans had to watch a brilliantly executed flea-flicker pass that apparently went for a touchdown, called back on an illegal blocking call.
Although it was called back, the play was without a doubt their best execution in the game. The play occurred in the second quarter when junior quarterback Joe Childs completed a flea-flicker pass, actually a very long lateral, to tight end Jerred Powell. Powell through a perfect forward pass to a wide-open Brandon Baumeister, who took it into the end zone for an apparent touchdown before the yellow flag negated it.
If getting beat 44-0 wasn’t bad enough for the 1-5 Trojans things got worse when a hand injury to starting quarterback Joe Childs sidelined him for the second half.
Reserve quarterback Hunter Fortney, a freshman, started the second half and gave Trojan fans a glimpse of the future. While the team continued its scoreless ways, Fortney played with poise for freshman.
Things may not get much easier for the Trojans as the look to get their second victory on the road Friday, Sept. 30 against the Kickapoo-LaFarge Predators. The team that beat Seneca earlier this year.
Meanwhile, Seneca must travel to DeSoto on Friday to take on the always tough Pirate team.
Coach Kramer noted DeSoto has some size on the team this season and have been playing real well lately.