Strong Second Half Propels Trimble Over Waterford for Fourth Consecutive Year
By: Zach Paquette
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WATERFORD, Ohio (WOUB) – Since 2018, the Trimble Tomcats have dominated the Waterford Wildcats and Saturday night’s matchup was no different as the Tomcats defeated the Wildcats 34-7.
There were many uncertainties heading into this game. Originally scheduled for Friday night, the schools agreed to push back the date to accommodate for Trimble’s ongoing COVID-19 outbreak that forced them to shut down football activities until September 8. As a result, the Tomcats came into Saturday’s game with only two practices under their belt.
The Wildcats came out and punched the Tomcats right in the mouth to open the game as Holden Dailey fielded the opening kickoff at his own 5-yard line before returning it all the way down to the Trimble 31-yard line. Dailey would cap off the drive four plays later with a 12-yard touchdown run.
Dailey would finish the night with 85 yards on the ground on 20 carries with his lone score coming on the opening drive. Along with being Waterford’s leading rusher, Dailey was Waterford’s leading receiver hauling in one reception for 24 yards.
Facing a 7-0 deficit, the Tomcats didn’t hit the panic button. They managed to tie the game at seven to close out the half before adding 27 second-half points and holding Waterford scoreless in the second half.
A lot of Trimble’s success came when the ball was in Tabor Lackey’s hands. Bryce Downs didn’t have a terrible night, accounting for 88 yards on 19 carries, however, the Waterford defense executed a good game plan to limit big plays from Downs. With all their focus on Downs, the Tomcats were able to utilize the legs of Lackey to find holes in the Wildcat defense.
Lackey was the leading rusher for the Tomcats accounting for 239 yards on 25 carries. All four of Lackey’s touchdowns came on the ground. Lackey also proved to be the more efficient passer of the two teams, completing eight of his 15 passing attempts for 111 yards.
Austin Wisor was Lackey’s go-to receiver with 81 yards on five receptions. Blake Guffey also wreaked havoc in the middle of the field, catching two passes for 29 yards.
With the loss, Waterford drops to 2-2 (0-1) on the season. They’ll look to snap their two-game losing streak when they play host to South Gallia next week.
With the win, the Trimble Tomcats improve to 3-0 (1-0) find themselves in the driver’s seat to win the TVC-Hocking conference title for the fourth consecutive season. Their next two weeks will be huge tests for the Tomcats as they hit the road to take on John Marshall in West Virginia next week before playing host to Fort Frye in week six.