Cedar stays unbeaten with 29-14 Crofton win
HARTINGTON — The rain fell early and often Friday night as the class C2 fourth ranked Cedar Catholic Trojans squared off with the 3-2 Crofton Warriors at Russ Hochstein Field.
The chilly temperature and the drizzle falling from the sky had little to no impact on the Trojans, led by a scintillating 10-18 performance of the shifty junior quarterback Tate Thoene, who tallied 131 yards through the air, as well as 74 yards rushing on the night.
The first quarter got started in a hurry for the Warriors, who returned the opening kickoff past midfield, setting up senior quarterback Zach Weber with a great opening drive field possession.
A couple of quick strikes up the middle later, and Crofton drew first blood off the heels of hard-hitting junior running back Jimmy Allen.
The Trojans’ special teams unit managed to get a hand on the Crofton extra point attempt however, keeping the Warriors short-lived lead at 6-0.
The Trojans’ first offensive possession saw Thoene connect deep over the middle to his brother, Myles Thoene, then finding junior Carter Arens down the sideline for another huge first down. After the Trojans’ offensive line opened a huge hole up the middle allowing Easton Becker to rumble forward for an additional nine yards, the stage was set for a quarterback keeper around the outside for the Trojans’ first score of the night.
Due to a Trojans’ personal foul penalty, the ensuing PAT was moved back, making it a 35-yard attempt, which was missed leaving the score tied 6-6 at the end of the first quarter.
The Trojans ramped up the energy in the second quarter, picking up an errant pitch off the hands of Weber, leaving the Cedar Catholic offense, which was already smelling blood in the water, the opportunity to start tacking on more points. On the very next possession, after a huge defensive pass interference call against Crofton’s secondary put the Trojans in Warrior territory, Thoene connected deep down the sideline to Arens, who made an outstanding catch, putting Cedar down inside the five-yard line, setting up an easy in for Becker, making the score 13-6 after the successful PAT. Another 3-and-out at the hands of the Trojans’ defense gave Cedar’s offense the opportunity to march down the field for a quick 26-yard Blake Arens field goal, giving Cedar Catholic the 16-6 edge going into the locker rooms at half time.
The second half saw a brief lull in the action, due to the inclement weather conditions before ................
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