Eastern escapes with one-point victory over Trimble
By: Shane Scalfaro
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GLOUSTER, Ohio (WOUB) — The Trimble Tomcats (4-2) hosted the Eastern Eagles (6-1) in a big Tri-Valley Conference Hocking matchup. With a win, Eastern put itself one step closer to the Hocking conference title, and that they did, with a 21-20 win.
In the first quarter, Eastern was driving down the field, and running back Rylee Barrett took the ball into the endzone to put the Eagles on the board first, 7-0.
After some back-and-forth play, Trimble had the ball, and quarterback Brandon Burdette ran out of the pocket and fumbled the football. Eastern’s Matt Marcum picked it up and took it to the house, but the extra point was missed, Eagles were up 13-0.
The second half began, and the Tomcats had new life. Trimble took it down to the goal line and Burdette ran a QB sneak to get the Tomcats on the board, but the two-point conversion was denied, and Eastern still led 13-6.
Trimble continued to heat up. They would get a stop on defense, then take the ball downfield once again. Running back Xavier Cunningham would finish off the drive with a touchdown and the two-point conversion, and the Tomcats took the lead 14-13.
The Eagles would get their momentum back after a trick play and a big run. On fourth down, the handoff would go to Brandon Oldaker, and he powered his way into the endzone to give Eastern the lead back.
The Tomcats got one more drive as the clock was winding down. With the Eagles getting multiple penalties on the drive, Trimble found themselves on the goal line. Bradon Burdette took the snap and ran it into the endzone. The Tomcats, down one, then decided to go for the two and the win. However, the handoff was dropped and Eastern jumped on top of it and sealed the game in their favor.
Eastern takes their momentum back home to take on the Belpre Golden Eagles (0-9). Meanwhile, for Trimble, they look to rebound at Waterford against the Wildcats (5-3).