The shoe was on the other foot for the North Crawford Homecoming Game last Friday night, when the Trojans exploded for a 42-2 victory over the visiting Seneca Indians.
Last year at Seneca’s Homecoming, it was the visiting Trojans, who lost 44-0. On Friday, it was a pretty straightforward affair. North Crawford scored six touchdowns and six extra points in the first three quarters. It was 14-0 after the first quarter, then 28-2 at halftime, and finally 42-2 at the end of the third quarter.
Seneca got their two points when the Trojans snapped the ball past punter Jerrid McDaniel into the end zone and he was forced to fall on it for a safety.
North Crawford improved their overall record to 4-1 and their conference record to 3-1 with the victory over the Indians. With the loss, Seneca fell to 0-4 overall and 0-3 in conference play.
The Trojans were in control of the entire game after jumping out to a 7-0 lead on a touchdown run by senior quarterback Joe Childs. North Crawford followed Childs’ touchdown with a fumble return for a touchdown by junior defensive back Tyler Olson. This gave North Crawford a 14-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Trojans scored quickly in the second quarter, when Childs connected on a short touchdown pass to junior tight end Cody Herschberger. The Seneca Indians scored their only points of the game on the safety following a missed snap on the punt. North Crawford held a 28-2 lead at halftime.
The Trojans started the second half very hot, as sophomore running back Branden Baumeister scored two touchdowns to make the lead at 42-2 at the end of the third quarter. Once the Trojans were ahead by 35 points a continuous clock went into effect and neither team scored in the fourth quarter. The final was a 42-2 victory for the North Crawford Trojans.
Despite the loss, Seneca’s head coach Justin Goodrich saw some positives in the game for the Indians.
“We were able to move the football, but we turned the ball over too many times,” Goodrich said later. “I was proud of our kids for not giving up and playing with heart. Our coaching staff is very pleased with the improvements the team has made since our first game and we’re hoping it continues.”
To some extent, the statistics bore out the Seneca coach’s assessment of the game. The Indians may have lost by 40 points to the Trojans, but they had seven first downs to North Crawford’s 10. Although Seneca was outgained in rushing 232 yards on 32 carries to just 93 yards on 31 carries, the Indians actually threw for 50 yards (5-13) compared to just 38 yards (3-9) for North Crawford.
However, it was definitely the turnovers that hurt the Indians. Seneca lost five fumbles and threw two interceptions compared to just one fumble for the Trojans.
With the victory Friday night, the Trojans are now eligible for the postseason for the first time since 2009.
North Crawford’s head coach Brandon Munson was extremely upbeat following the victory.
“It was nice to get another victory in front of our home crowd,” Munson said. “We knew it would be a big crowd on both sidelines, and I'm proud that we came out and represented North Crawford so well at Homecoming.”
Munson was excited to discuss the remaining part of the season.
“With three games left in the season, we still have our eye on the big prize, but understand that we can only control our destiny,” Munson said. “We have three quality opponents remaining on our schedule, and it's going to take three excellently played football games to come away with victories. We'll be working hard this week to prepare for Kickapoo-LaFarge, as we host them for Parents Night this coming Friday.”
Several Trojan players are among the best in the conference at their positions. The Trojans’ senior wingback Jacob Baumeister has run for 592 yards, while DeSoto’s Patrick Lown has run for 668 yards and Ithaca’s Mitchell Ricco has run for 572 yards. The Trojan’s junior wingback Hank Schellhorn has 130 yards in pass receptions, while Ithaca’s Cody Klossowski has 163 yards. DeSoto's Alex Stevenson has 160 yards in pass receiving and teammate Kody Larson has 159 yards. The Trojan’s senior quarterback Joe Childs has a total of 334 yards passing, the third best in the conference, behind DeSoto’s Tanner Johnson and Ithaca’s Trevor Koch.
Munson and the Trojan athletic boosters are urging local residents to come out and support the North Crawford Trojan football team this Friday, when they host the Predators of Kickapoo-LaFarge.
Seneca will host the DeSoto Friday night. The Pirates are 4-1 overall and 2-1 in conference play.
