FALCONER - The senior captains showed the way for the Southwestern Trojans on the opening night of the Section 6 high school football season.
Playing before a standing-room-only crowd at Bill Race Field, the Trojans, behind the efforts of Peter Trathen, Ryan Schutte and Jake Pilling, shut out Falconer, 24-0, in the 85th renewal of the crosstown rivalry Friday night.
''We know these kids can play,'' Southwestern coach Jay Sirianni said, ''but my concern is what kind of leaders are they going to be, and I saw good leadership tonight.''
Article Photos
Southwestern’s Peter Trathen knocks the ball loose from Falconer’s Jacob Penhollow on the first play in Friday night’s Class C South game. See additional photos at cu.post-journal.com.
P-J photo by Scott Kindberg
Their stats weren't bad either.
Trathen led a stout defensive effort with 12 tackles and a forced fumble; Schutte caught six passes for 80 yards, including two for touchdowns, rushed twice for 21 yards and intercepted a pass; and Pilling threw for 92 yards, ran for 74 more and tacked on a TD to help the Trojans extend their series win streak to 16 games.
Not a bad way to kick off their Class C South schedule, huh?
All told, the Trojans outgained Falconer, 280-154, forced three turnovers and scored points on four of their first five possessions. The lone possession they did not earn points came in the waning moments of the first half when they were content to run out the clock and head into the locker room with a 10-0 lead, courtesy of junior Tanner Hoose's 20-yard field goal and Pilling's 11-yard scoring strike to Schutte.
''I can't get over we had two possessions in the first half,'' Sirianni said.
Southwestern was just as efficient on its first drive after intermission.
Holding the ball for nearly 8 minutes, the Trojans used 15 plays to march 66 yards, capped by Pilling's second 11-yard TD pass to a wide-open Schutte in the right side of the end zone. Armed with a 17-0 advantage, Southwestern forced a punt and scored almost immediately to put the game out of reach. The touchdown was set up by sophomore Hunter Peterson's 47-yard run. Pilling burst through from 8 yards out for the score and Hoose booted his third successful extra-point try.
''We've been used to, in years past, being a big-play team and we didn't have to tonight,'' Sirianni said. '' ... The first four possessions we scored, so we're happy with that and our defense put up a shutout.''
Falconer had its chances, especially in the first half. But the Trojans' defense held its ground, thwarting two deep Golden Falcon drives inside the Southwestern 20, one courtesy of an interception by senior Nick Baglia.
''We had some bad breaks,'' Falconer coach Dan Krenzer said, ''but you can't control that. I ran the tank dry on a few of these guys and I knew I was doing it, but you have to go for it, and the kids did reasonably well. You could see when they just couldn't go any farther.
''It wasn't necessarily Southwestern stopping us, it was just we were out of gas. I was really excited. To play a caliber of team like this, this way, even though the score turned out 24-0, it impressed me. I was happy.''
Falconer senior quarterback Devon Cameron passed for 73 yards and ran for 63, which accounted for all but 18 of his team's total yards. Junior Kyle Petersen caught four passes for 46 yards and junior Jake Youngberg collected seven solo tackles and five assists to lead the defense.
''I'm cautiously optimistic,'' Krenzer said. ''We have things going and, best of all, the kids did not quit, fold or anything else. The tanks ran dry and we did the best we could do.''
NOTES: Peterson led Southwestern in rushing with 83 yards in 11 carries and senior linebacker Matt Martin collected seven tackles. ... Junior linebacker Jimmy McDonald had seven solo tackles and two assists, and junior defensive back Cody Dustin and senior defensive back Brandon Muntz both had five solo and three assisted stops for pace the Falconer defense. ... The Trojans lead the series, which dates to 1927, 43-33-9. ... Their last loss in the rival came in 1996 when the Golden Falcons prevailed, 13-8. Southwestern is back in action next Friday when it entertains Westfield, while Falconer plays host to Panama.
Southwestern3 7 14 0 - 24
Falconer0 0 0 0 - 0
SW-Hoose 20 FG
SW-Schutte 11 pass from Pilling (Hoose kick)
SW-Schutte 11 pass from Pilling (Hoose kick)
SW-Pilling 8 run (Hoose kick)