Trojans Open Season Strong With Victory

After the Rye Garnets got their season off with a 28-20 loss at Somers on Friday night, local football fans turned their attention to Blind Brook’s opening day on Saturday.

The Trojans had the tough task of containing Malcolm Downey and the Woodlands Falcons offense but in the end Blind Brook came out with a 28-13 victory.

Even though Blind Brook won the toss, head coach Drew Cicoria and the Trojans elected to kick and showcased their defense first. The move paid off as Woodlands went three and out and took less then two minutes off the clock.

Both offenses struggled to get anything going in the first quarter, but with minutes remaining Woodlands kept the ball on the ground and began to put a drive together. Relying heavily on the elusive Downey, the Falcons were able to get in the end zone on a 31-yard run by the quarterback and take the lead.

“He is a quick dude,” said Jamie Ketchabaw, Blind Brook’s quarterback and defensive back. “He really hit us hard on the ground. We just stuck to him, there is nothing really we could do.”

The Blind Brook offense was not clicking for the majority of the first half and they turned the ball over on downs twice in the second quarter, but thanks to heads up defense they were able to even up the score.

When Woodlands took over position with over two minutes remaining in the first half, they went back to Downey and the senior fumbled the ball. Blind Brook’s Joseph Joyce landed on the ball giving the Trojans a first down 15 yards away from the end zone. Seconds after Joyce’s recovery for Blind Brook let the quarterback keep the ball and run in for a 12 yard touchdown, tying the game right before half.

“They were sending one linebacker each time,” said Ketchabaw of his touchdown, “so I went over to coach and told him to run a QB sneak. I saw them blitz from the right side and I went up the left for the score.”

The second half was a different story for the home team as Woodlands could not stop the Blind Brook running game. The Trojans drove the ball into the red zone where Nicholas Megdanis pounded it in from three yards out. Moments later, Jonathan Kulik added another Blind Brook touchdown with a twenty-two yard scamper putting the team up 21-7.

In the third quarter, the Falcons were hurt greatly when Downey went down with an apparent leg injury. Even though the quarterback was able to come back in the game the Woodlands offense was stalled and could never regain momentum.

After each team found the end zone one more time in the fourth quarter Blind Brook won the game 28-13.

The 2011 season is sure to be a good one for the Trojans, and with the team beating one of their top competitors in convincing fashion the team is optimistic for their season prospects.

“It is very important,” said Ketchabaw, “We were pumped, we knew the entire season that this is going to be the best team we are going to have for a while. So we really brought it out today.”

Woodlands will play their first home game against Pawling next Saturday as Blind Brook will also play on Saturday and the Trojans will look to continue their success at Lincoln Hall.