by Anthony Robinson

Atlantic forced six Tiger turnovers (three on their first three possessions), as the Trojans defeated the Carroll Tigers 41-25. The boys in black, gold, and pink put four quarters together to seal the victory Friday night.

The Trojans had 478 yards of offense (254 rushing, 224 passing) and the Trojans’ defense held Carroll to 240 yards of offense (158 rushing, 82 passing)

“We talked all week that we were so close to blowing up (and) tonight we scored 41 against Carroll,” head coach Tim Duff said after the game.

The Trojans led by 13 points less than four minutes into the game after two Carroll turnovers. Senior Ethan Westering picked off quarterback Casey Kasperbauer, for the first of four Kasperbauer interceptions, on the Tigers’ first drive of the night. Kasperbauer had thrown seven interceptions through the first seven games of the season coming into the game.

The Trojans would score on a five-yard pass play to junior Sam Markham to jump ahead 7-0. Markham finished the night with seven receptions for 99 yards and two touchdowns. 

On the first play of Carroll’s next possession, the Tigers fumbled the ball directly into the hands of  senior Gunnar Blum. On Atlantic’s first play of their next drive, junior quarterback Harrison Hoegh found Markham on an 18-yard touchdown pass, for the second Trojans’ score in 23 seconds.

After committing their third turnover in six minutes, the Tigers defense held the Trojans into a punting situation. Blum’s punt was returned all the way to the Trojan 19.

The black and gold defense held strong forcing the Tigers to settle for a field goal, but Kasperbauer missed the field goal keeping the score 13-0 Trojans after the first quarter.

Senior Gunnar Blum would score his first of two touchdowns on the night from 6-yards out with 10:19 left in the second quarter, giving the Trojans’ their biggest lead of the season, 20-0.

Carroll found the endzone before hitting a field goal with two and a half minutes left in the half, to cut the deficit to 10 points at the half.

The Trojans looked strong to start the second half, ending a long drive with a 6-yard touchdown run by Blum. Blum ended the night with 71 yards off 21 carries with two touchdowns.

“(The) boys came out and really set the tone. We took five minutes off the clock and put it into the  end zone,” Duff said.

The Trojans forced Carroll to punt on their first drive of the second half.

Senior-leader Derek Stork broke off a 36-yard run, before sophomore Jake Dvorak found the end zone on a 34-yard run to put the Trojans up 35-10 with three minutes remaining in the third.

On the ensuing kickoff, speedster Anthony Beyerink (5’6″) found a seam and beat everyone to the endzone for a 70-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.

Early in the fourth, Markham intercepted Kasperbauer for the first of three interceptions in the final 12 minutes. Juniors Dalton Cook and Chad Christensen were credited with the other two in the final quarter.

After the first interception, Carroll blocked the Trojans’ next punt and recovered it in the endzone to cut the Trojan lead to 10 early in the fourth.

Hoegh found junior Dalton Franken for the final touchdown of the game.

“(I’m) just excited for the boys. We talked about how we needed to win a home game, to show that it’s not just lip service and show that we have a good team. Hopefully this night marks a sign for the future,” Duff said.

The Trojans host the Red Oak Tigers next week for the final game of the season.