South Tama’s Freshman/Sophomore football team completed their season with a 42-21 win over the Benton Bobcats last Friday night, Oct. 18.

The offenses for both teams came out strong. Freshman running back Izak Schroeder exploded for a 64-yard touchdown on the Trojan’s first possession of the game to give them a 6-0 lead. But the Bobcats answered on their next possession with a 61-yard touchdown run. After a successful point-after-attempt, Benton led 7-6. However, STC answered with another touchdown of their own, on a drive that saw them convert two fourth-down plays. The drive was capped off by a 10-yard rushing touchdown by freshman quarterback Ryan Brant, and STC took a 12-7 lead.

The second quarter saw more scoring opportunities for both teams. Trojan freshman Ethan Page intercepted a Benton pass and ran it back 69-yards for a touchdown to give STC a 20-7 lead. But Benton answered right back on their next possession with an 11-yard touchdown pass. This put the halftime score at 20-14, Trojans.

The second half got off to an ominous start for STC. A fumble in Trojan’s own end zone by Brant was recovered by the Bobcats for a touchdown. This gave Benton their second lead of the game at 21-20. But two big plays for the Trojans followed, which acted as the turning points of the game. Right after his fumble, Brant ran the ensuing kickoff back 75-yards for a touchdown. And on the following Benton possession, sophomore Josiah Houghton intercepted a Bobcat pass and ran it back 65-yards for STC’s second pick-six of the game. This gave the Trojans a 34-21 lead, and they never looked back. A late Bobcat fumble was recovered by freshman Edwyn Perez, which led to Schroeder’s second rushing touchdown of the game. This gave the Trojans a victory by the final margin of 42-21.

The victory completed STC’s Freshman/Sophomore 2024 campaign. The team finished with a record of 6-2. The Trojans outscored their opponents 247-131, while averaging 30 points a game on offense and giving up an average of 16 points a game on defense.