Lassiter Defense Stifles McEachern

With Eddie Printz, Juwan Dickey, Charlie Hegedus and Isiah Willis all on offense, Lassiter has the ability to put points on the scoreboard in a hurry. It was the defense however that moved the Trojans past McEachern 20-17 and into the second round. The Lassiter secondary intercepted McEachern quarterback Trent Thompson three times to spur the Trojans on to a victory. Garrett Shank returned an interception to the Indians one-yard line early in the first quarter to help the Trojans out to an 8-0 lead. Willis finished off the drive with a one-yard plunge for the score. Lassiter would allow the Thompson to find Malik Williams for a 20-yard score and Nicholas St. Germain would connect on a 29-yard field goal to give the Indians a 10-8 halftime lead. Lassiter had a chance towards the start of the second quarter to put some points on the board, but missed on fourth-and-goal from inside the two-yard line when Printz’s pass was too high for Willie Police.

The Trojan defense would not surrender much over the next 22 minutes though, picking off Thompson in the third quarter just seconds after Printz found Hegedus for a 12-yard score to give Lassiter the lead back 14-10. Lassiter wouldn’t move the ball after the interception, but the punt was muffed by the upback and recovered by a Trojans special teams player.

The Trojans would start the fourth quarter with a 30-yard completion on fourth-and-two, leading to a Josh Danforth one-yard touchdown run. The Lassiter defense would stop McEachern on the next drive on a fourth-and-one, then Lassiter would intercept Thompson to snuff out the Indians next drive, allowing the Trojans to nearly kill the clock. McEachern scored on a 55-yard touchdown screen pass to Jaloni Wells, but the Trojans recovered the onside kick to ice the game.