(Creston) Creston running back Weston Trapp rushed for 346 yards and scored four touchdowns, and the Panthers held off Atlantic in the waning moments of the fourth quarter to win 30-28 in a Class 3A District #6 football game at Creston on Friday night. The game featured numerous ebbs and flows, with four lead changes and one tie.
Atlantic’s Jarrett Hansen returned the opening kick-off to the Creston 37-yard line. The Trojans immediately marched to the goal line on five plays. Tyson O’Brien topped off the drive with a six-yard run, and following Kadin Thompson’s extra point, the Trojans grabbed a 7-0 lead. It did not take long for Creston to respond. Weston Trapp took the handoff and raced 78 yards on the first play from scrimmage; however, the extra missed, and the Trojans held on to a 7-6 lead.
The Trojans fumbled the ball on their ensuing drive, and the Panthers took advantage with a five-play 57-yard series, capped by Trapp’s one-yard TD. The Panther converted for two and led 14-7 with 6:31 left in the first quarter.
The Trojans responded with fourteen straight points in the second quarter on O’Brien’s touchdown runs of 32 and 10 yards and regained the lead 21-14. Weston Trapp broke loose again, this time on a 65-yard jaunt. The extra point failed, and the Trojans again held on to a one-point lead, 21-20. It appeared the half would end that way, but after a long run by Trapp and a 15-yard penalty on the Trojans defense as time ran out in the first half gave the Panthers an extra play, resulting in Joaquin Flores’s 28-yard field goal leap-frogging Creston to a 23-21 lead at the break.
Both defenses came out in the second half, cranking down on the running games, resulting in just two scores. Creston scored on a nine-play 75-yard drive to start the second half. Weston Trapp polished off the 3:34 drive with a one-yard run. Flores knocked the extra point through for the most significant spread of the contest, 30-21. However, Atlantic hammered out a 12-play 40-yard drive finished off by Tyson-O’Brien’s one-yard plunge, narrowing the gap to 30-28 mid-way through the fourth quarter. The Trojans had their chances with a late-game drive. However, Trojan quarterback Tristan Hayes scrambled out of the pocket, and the Panthers tackled the senior quarterback just shy of the first down marker. Creston took possession with a little over one minute left to play and ran out the clock for the win.
The Trojans ended the night with 311 total yards, 281 rushing, and 31 yards passing. Tyson O’Brien led the run game with 38 carries for 215 yards and four touchdowns. Gavin McLaren had six carries for 22 yards. Tristan Hayes completed 5-of-6 passes for 31.
The Panthers ended the game with 377 total yards, 362 rushing, and 15 passing yards. The elusive Creston running back Weston Trapp led the way with 28 carries for 342 yards and four touchdowns.
The Panthers are 2-0 in District play and 2-4 overall. Atlantic falls to 1-1 in District play and 5-2 overall.
