Peyton Rutledge runs in for a touchdown on Wednesday, Oct. 28. The Trojans shut out Kuemper Catholic 30-0 in Round 1 of playoffs.

“Ten and 0 sounds good,” Coach Jay Hoskey told his team following South Tama’s (10-0) seventh shut out of season over Kuemper Catholic (3-7) on Wednesday, Oct. 28, “But 11 and 0 sounds better.”

Wednesday night’s matchup wasn’t necessarily the prettiest game the Trojans have played this season but the important thing is they got the job done by defeating the Knights 30-0 on their quest for the Dome.

The Trojans’ offensive game plan wasn’t too much of a surprise. They looked to Jerry Lowe to power the ball down the middle for a majority of the first half and into the third quarter. Lowe tallied three Trojan touchdowns including a 5-yard run in the first quarter, a 1-yard run in the second quarter, and a 3-yard run in the third quarter.

While Lowe continued his work as the Trojans’ featured back, senior fullback Peyton Rutledge got involved with his highest number of carries (8) since week one. Rutledge had some key offensive plays tallying up 34 rushing yards and 35 receiving yards and a touchdown in the third quarter. He also totaled six solo tackles for the night.

“You have a linebacker like Bubba, he’s a kid that should be first-team all-state,” Hoskey said. “If not, I’ll have a problem with it. He plays with passion. He plays with heart, and he makes plays. He makes a lot of calls out there.”

“Everyone was just going to the ball, making plays, making tackles,” said STC fullback/linebacker Peyton Rutledge. Everything was just clicking on defense. Everything was just going.”

Once the Trojans had a comfortable lead at 21-0 in the third quarter quarterback Darius Lasley-Shields put his arm to work and was able to get a little chemistry going with fellow senior wide out Colson Frakes. Lasley-Shields completed 9-10 passes with 108 yards, while Frakes finished with 48 yards receiving.

The Trojans have had a near perfect season despite dealing with injuries to some key players. Running back Jerry Lowe continues to nurse a leg injury and came out of the game early in the first quarter but returned quickly.

“He was all right,” Hoskey said. “It was just a little bit tight in that knee, and then he has a brace on there, and I think the brace slid a little bit. That was kind of part of it. He’s been going all year with this, so he’ll get healed up.”

The team is also still adjusting to a change up at quarterback after Clayton Rosenberger suffered a broken collar bone two weeks ago against East Marshall.

While it should go without saying that offense is important, after all you have to have points to win games, it’s STC’s defense that continues to be there strong suit. Although STC’s offense has performed quite well this season, it is no secret that defense is the team’s calling card this season. These are a tough group of young men on the field each week. They have shut out seven teams in 10 games and held their toughest competition, Aplington Parkersburg, to just 10 points. The Falcons are a team who averaged nearly 40 points a game and it was a good challenge for the Trojans.

With so much success you have to begin to wonder if the Trojans are starting to feel any pressure to completely shut down a teams offense. But according to Rutledge it’s more of a secondary goal for the team. Their primary focus is to win.

So what’s their secret?

“We’re so consistent,” said STC coach Jay Hoskey. “Our first string guys, they play everything well. Anything inside, nobody’s been able to run the ball inside on us except for maybe (Aplington-Parkersburg), and that’s their forte. They have some big dudes there.”

Combine a tough defense with a strong running game and a few weapons like the speed of Kolbie Clark and agility of Lasley-Shields and the Trojans are proving to be a dangerous team to play.

There are some things the Trojans will need to clean up moving forward. Cutting penalties, protecting the ball and being strong on special teams will be key as they move forward with tougher competition.

The Trojans will look to defend their undefeated season on Monday, Nov. 2 at Trojan Field. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. The Trojans will face off against the New Hampton Chickasaws. The Chickasaws are 5-5 coming off a first round upset against Class 2A-2 champion Garner-Hayfield-Ventura who came into the playoffs with a 7-2 record that included a win over a high quality Hampton-Dumont team (7-2). The Chickasaws appear to favor their run game and will likely look toward their 6′-1, 187lb senior back Trevor Ambrose to shoulder the load offensively. Ambrose is 10th in Class 2A in rushing yards with 1134. With Monday’s highs projected in the 70’s it looks to be a beautiful night for football.

CLASS 2A Round 2 Outlook:

East Sac County (6-4) vs Central Lyon/ George-Little Rock (5-4) at Wall Lake

Estherville Lincoln Central (3-6) @ Spirit Lake (10-0)

Hampton-Dumont (8-2) @ North Fayette Valley (8-2)

Mid-Prairie, Wellman (8-2) @ Albia (10-0)

Mount Vernon (7-2) @ Central Lee, Donnellson (9-1)

New Hampton (5-5) @ South Tama County, Tama (10-0)

Waukon (8-1) @ Aplington-Parkersburg (8-2)

Williamsburg (6-3) @ Anamosa (9-0)