Published: November 08, 2009 12:51 am      

Trojans’ speed too much for Blue Devils

BISMARCK — If speed kills, then Maroa-Forsyth’s speed definitely did that against the Bismarck-Henning Blue Devils on Saturday.

The Trojans scored on four of their first six possessions en route to a 49-7 victory in a second round Class 2A playoff game.

Coming into the game, Blue Devils coach Mark Dodd knew his squad was facing a very fast opponent.

“They just have speed everywhere and we are not an overly fast team,” he said. “Their front seven is also very long and we just couldn’t get into them much and move them. It was pretty obvious early on that they are the best football team we have faced. They are maybe a step ahead of us as a program at this point, but our guys competed and I am very proud of them.”

The Trojans scored on their first three possessions. Two long scoring passes put the Trojans up 14-0 after one quarter and a third early in the second made the score 21-0.

The Blue Devils stopped the fourth Trojans drive on a fumble recovery near the goal line by Josh Kessler. A fake punt on the ensuing Blue Devils drive would come up short when punter Ian Park was tackled just short of the first down marker.

“We didn’t think we would be able to punt into the wind,” said Dodd. “We were facing a lot of long yardage situations and felt like we had to try something to get going.”

Chase Whorrall would intercept Maroa-Forsyth quarterback Blake Stelzriede in the end zone on the Trojans next drive, but following a Blue Devils’ three and out, Dalton Coventry punched it in from ten yards out to send the Trojans to the half up 28-0.

The Blue Devils got the second half kickoff and moved near mid-field before being forced to punt. The Trojans would quickly score on a long reverse to go up 35-0 and following another Blue Devils punt — which they returned to the seven-yard line — Coventry scored again to make the score 42-0 after three quarters. The continuous clock was in effect for the fourth quarter but there was still time for two more touchdowns.

The Trojans got a scoring run from Dustin Hoffman and the Blue Devils got on the board late with a five-yard run from Ross Darby which capped a drive that featured the running of Tyler Russell and the receiving of Kyle Lamm.

“Kyle is a very talented receiver,” said Dodd. “This was a breakout game for him and he did a little of everything. I think this can be a springboard for him for next season. Michael Grant did a good job of getting him the ball and played a very composed game at quarterback. You have to go through learning stages and this game was an awakening for our younger guys to understand what they need to do to get to the next level. It was a good experience for them and a good reward for our seniors.”

The Blue Devils finish the season at 6-4 and say goodbye to seniors Grant, Luke Thornsborough, Derek Davis, Cody Longest, Cameron Cottingham, Danny Golden, and Jonathan Rogers.

“Cameron played for the first time last year and was a line specialist for us this year,” said Dodd. “Jonathan is a kid everyone likes and has been an inspiration to the team. He works very hard and that says a lot about his character. It was a gift to have Danny here for his senior year. … He came back home I guess you could say.

“We had a little success late in the game but they were the better team and overall this game showed us at what level we need to compete at in order to win in the postseason.”