Trojans defeat Cavaliers in blowout
Running back Trevor Lovelace dives into the end zone for his fourth touchdown of the game
For the Trojans, it was the Trevor Lovelace show in Chatham last Friday night. Lovelace, who sat out last week vs. Dan River due to an hyper-extended knee injury, came back in grand style, Lovelace ran for four touchdowns while having 29 carries for 160 yards, leading the Trojans to a 39-12 win over the Cavaliers.
“The good thing about having Trevor back is that not only does he add a boost to our running game, but then I can slide guys back around and we don’t have to play as many guys both ways.” said Tunstall head coach David Potts “I think it showed it tonight. We wore them down as the night went on, the holes got bigger and the gains got bigger. We were hoping we can wear them down and push them down and that’s what happened as the night went on. We loosen them up with a little bit of passing and then we were ready to pound them.”
Clay Hardy also held his end of the Trojans rushing game; carrying the ball just 12 times on 134 yards. One big run from Hardy came late in the second quarter, where he eluded multiple Cavaliers for a 55 yard run, giving way to Lovelace who scored a four yard rushing touchdown on the Tunstall drive. Hardy has now rushed for over 100 yards in three consecutive games in the young season.
“It’s nice having a one-two punch instead of just a one punch,” said Potts “It’s nice having that change of pace back coming in, and it’s tough for a defense to prepare for two completely different running backs like that.”
The Trojans also had a season high of five fumble recoveries, all on defense. Payne had two fumble recoveries while Tony Totten, Josh Wells and Nick Vest each had one. Payne and Fletcher Hardy each had one sack.
Tunstall quarterback Luke Buckner struggled connecting to his receivers. Buckner was 4-11 with 64 passing yards. The only Trojan receiver that caught more than one pass from Buckner was Ben Donahue. Donahue caught two passes for 20 yards. Lovelace and Michael Pyrtle both caught one pass and combined for 41 yards. Pyrtle also caught the touchdown pass from Buckner in the third, which was from 30 yards.
Tunstall will return home this Friday to the face Patrick County Cougars. Game time is at 7pm
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Brian Cendejas is a senior at Tunstall High School and this is his third year on the Trojan Messenger staff. Outside of school, Brian is also a sports...
Kristin Farris is a senior at Tunstall High School. This is her first year in journalism. After graduation she plans on moving to Atlanta, Georgia, to...
