Last Friday the Chiefland football team won a physical game against previously unbeaten and No. 1 ranked Union County (Lake Butler), 30-29.
On Monday night in Trenton, there were no signs of a letdown as the visiting Indians built a 25-0 lead at the end of the first quarter and cruised to a 39-6 victory in the regular season finale for both teams.
“It took a lot of encouragement on our part to get our kids focused on what we needed to do tonight,” said Chiefland coach Adam Gore. “Overall, I was pleased. There were a few mental mistakes in there, but I was pleased with the way we were able to come out here and perform and play well against a rival.”
It didn’t take long for the Indians to establish control of the game.
A short kickoff to the 35-yard line was returned to the 49-yard line by junior Demorri Sweet.
On the second play from scrimmage, Sweet scored the first of two touchdowns, a 40-yard scoring run just 57 seconds into the game for a 6-0 lead after the extra point was no good.
Trenton (3-7) turned the ball over on its first three possessions and the Indians turned them all into points.
Junior Jolan Doty had an interception at the Tigers’ 40-yard line and returned to it the 31-yard line. A Trenton unsportsmanlike conduct penalty put the ball at the 16-yard line.
After an incomplete pass in the end zone, Sweet ran it in from 16 yards out for a 12-0 lead with 10:09 to play in the first quarter.
Sweet had three carries for 64 yards in the first quarter.
“It’s kind of been that all year, it’s been different guys on different nights, and we like it that way,” Gore said. “It makes it harder on our opponent for us to do that. At one point we had five guys averaging 10 yards per carry so that’s kind of where we want to be. It makes it hard for defenses to key on certain people and tonight’s was Demorri’s night to score a little bit.”
A Trenton fumble on its next possession was recovered by Chiefland senior Trent Bright, giving the Indians the ball at the Tigers’ 40-yard line.
Junior quarterback Matt Goodale had two passes in the end zone that were dropped in the first quarter, including a 29-yard pass to Doty who was wide open.
However, Goodale, who also had a pair of deep passes down the sidelines that were dropped for potential touchdowns, scored on a 29-yard run on the next play to give Chiefland (9-1) a 19-0 lead with 6:17 still to play in the opening quarter.
“I think Matt threw the ball well, we didn’t do a good job catching it, but he would have had a big night as well,” Gore said. “That’s something we’ve got to clean up this week and next week to get ready for the playoffs. We’ve got to connect on those when they’re available and we didn’t do that tonight, but Matt did a great job.”
The next possession likely sealed Trenton’s fate as senior Osten Jones had a pick-6 with an interception at the Chiefland 40-yard line and a 60-yard return for a 25-0 lead with 4:24 to play in the first quarter.
“He’s a guy last week in the Union County game that probably should have had a touchdown on defense, a touchdown on offense, and a special teams touchdown,” Gore said. “He’s a special player, he’s a special kid, and he’s definitely going to help us when we get ready for the playoffs.”
On Chiefland’s final possession of the first quarter, a 41-yard touchdown run senior Jamarion White was called back due to a penalty.
However, White would later score on the drive with a 7-yard touchdown run of the first play of the second quarter for a commanding 32-0 lead.
Trenton had an opportunity to score in the second quarter following a fumble recovery by sophomore Zaiden Bon at the Indians’ 30-yard line.
The Tigers were able to move the ball to the 1-yard line but on 4th-and-goal a bad snap resulted in a turnover on downs.
Chiefland ensured a running clock when Goodale found Jones on a 93-yard touchdown pass for a 39-0 lead with 2:25 to play in the half.
Each team only had the ball once in the second half, but Trenton got on the scoreboard on a 3-yard touchdown run by junior Alex Henry to cap a 72-yard scoring drive with 1:35 to play in the third quarter.
The score prevented the Indians’ defense from posting their sixth shutout of the season.
“I think we [defense] played well,” Gore said. “We had an opportunity to get a lot of guys a lot of minutes and that’s going to help us down the road. We wanted to start fast and get it out there and then get a lot of guys a lot of minutes, so we’re pleased with the score and the way it turned out.”
Chiefland will now get ready for the second season and should host an FHSAA state playoff game on Friday, Nov. 15.
