It may not have been pretty, but a win’s a win for the battered Olympic Trojans.
A strong second quarter on the backs of seniors Riley McCoy and Antonio Castorena paired with a crucial goal-line stand proved to be the difference in bringing the Trojans out of a brief midseason rut with a 24-14 victory over the visiting Bremerton Knights Oct. 11.
“It’s just one of those games,” Trojan coach Sal Quitevis Jr. said. “Just from the get-go, it didn’t seem like we could get things going…We were out of sorts, and luckily, we get a win out of it still.”
It was a win the Trojans sorely needed after dropping two straight on the road: 18-14 to Bainbridge and a 40-37 shootout vs. King’s. Sickness and injuries would also leave them short-handed at their Homecoming date with the Knights, the most concerning being junior running back Chace Webster.
The legs of Trojans McCoy and sophomore De’Aree Bell led the ground game, but a missed field goal kept zeros on the scoreboard through the first quarter vs. Bremerton. Two plays after a 50-yard explosion through the air McCoy started the second quarter with his first touchdown of the game. His second came just over two minutes later, finding a gap for a 47-yard sprint to the endzone.
Bremerton slowed the momentum with a drive of its own, junior quarterback Anthony Medina leading the drive with a fourth down completion to junior Tremain Abuan. But the Trojan defense held on another fourth down to end the threat. “We did a great job adjusting and limiting their pass, but give it up to Bremerton too,” Quitevis said. “They threw a little bit more than we thought they’d try to, and they were converting things.”
Bremerton’s defense and special teams had their moments as well, including an endzone interception by senior Ethan Guerrero to kill the Trojan’s final drive of the first half. A 12-yard touchdown run by junior running back Gavin Wells and a short field goal rounded out the Olympic scoring, but the Knights secured two second-half touchdowns on a loose ball recovery in the endzone after a botched punt snap and a receiving score for junior Elijah Harris late in the fourth quarter.
Olympic’s focus now is getting healthy, as Webster could make his return as early as next week. “We don’t have a lot of depth, so it’s trying to keep those guys healthy and making sure that we’re getting a win as well,” Quitevis said.
Olympic will go back on the road Oct. 18 against Sequim. Bremerton will host North Mason.
Olympic senior running back Riley McCoy crosses into the end zone for his first of two touchdowns in the game against the Bremerton Knights.
