Trojans come alive in second half to vanquish Vikings

Petaluma High’s Trojans come alive in the second half to win football opener.|

Petaluma bounced back from an uneven first half to run away from host Montgomery, 21-7, in the football season opener played in Santa Rosa last Friday.

The Trojans trailed, 7-0, and were out-gained 118-36 before their total turnaround in the final two quarters. An extended halftime visit with coach Rick Krist and his staff might have had much to do with the Trojan resurgence.

“My talk did go a little longer than planned, but it was important that we continued to play better under adversity,” noted Krist. “I was very proud of the way our kids came back. They even suspected that Montgomery was starting to fall apart late in the half when things didn’t go their way.”

The only life by the Trojan offense in the early going came on a play that never officially happened. A typical Trojan dive into the middle of the line by fullback Derrick Pomi was whistled dead mid-way through the first quarter. The only problem with that was that he never had the ball.

The play included an excellent fake, and a Trojan quarterback keeper with Cole Powers galloping untouched nearly 70 yards despite repeated secondary whistles to bring him back. The senior signal caller knew better, however, and continued his adventure into the end zone just in case.

It was simply the case of an inadvertent whistle, and Krist, Powers and Trojans had to move on. It was at this point that the Trojans showed the poise without a lot of wasted emotion that would eventually carry them to the victory.

“The officials said that there was nothing that could be done, but we sensed a change in momentum,” said Krist.

Petaluma got nothing but stronger after the missed call, while the Vikings eventually fell apart with countless penalties and misplays. It would all play out as the evening turned a bit colder.

The first half was dominated by the all-around play of Viking quarterback Cole Hallin and a trio of talented receivers. Hallin was able to move Montgomery by connecting on a 19-yard passing route, and he ran well enough alternate plays to keep the Trojans guessing. The Vikings wound up scoring on their first series.

A second drive almost got the hosts a second score following an interception of a Powers pass by BJ Johnson. A fourth-down pass in the end zone bounced off the hands of the Viking receiver.

The only life for Petaluma came on a 40-yard march aided by two costly Montgomery penalties. An attempted field goal sailed wide right. It would be the last threat until after intermission.

Petaluma got rid of any pre-season jitters, and began to show signs of life in the third quarter after stopping a Viking drive on the Trojan 30. A couple of solid running plays preceded a Powers pitch to speedy Garrett Freitas who galloped 61 yards for a score that would eventually tie the game. A final quick cut on the 5-yard line by Freitas got him into the end zone untouched.

“Our wide receiver got a better angle block on their linebacker who broke up the same play earlier,” explained Krist.

The Trojans added a go-ahead rushing touchdown by Pomi at the end of the third quarter set up by a short pass from Powers to Jacob Havard who made a well-executed reverse cut to avoid the sideline. The play covered 24 yards.

Petaluma controlled the rest of the game, adding an insurance touchdown in the final stanza on a 2-yard slant by Powers.

A 12-play series took most of the remaining time off the clock as the Trojans were content to get out of Dodge.

Seven penalties were whistled on the frustrated Vikings who lost focus in the final minutes. Pass interceptions by Freitas and Reidun Christobal didn’t help their cause. Christobal had a terrific game as an outside defender by either intercepting or knocking down passes by Hallin. Junior lineman Matt Saylers also got a good push up front while making several defensive plays.

Montgomery crushed the Petaluma JV team in the preliminary game 52-7.

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