Wednesday, Aug. 25, 2010

Trojans lose a lot in opener

Garner falls to Millbrook, 3-0, and loses a key contributor for three months.

After a loss to Millbrook, Garner finds itself in a familiar spot following opening night of the high school football season. The Trojans fell 3-0 on Friday night, dropping their third-straight opener against the rival Wildcats.

How long the loss lingers for the Trojans is a question that's unanswered for now. But the loss of starting quarterback Riley Gallaher for at least three months is one Garner will be dealing with for the rest of the regular season.

Gallaher transferred into the Trojan program from Middle Creek last fall, then sat out the remainder of that season in preparation for what everyone hoped would be a big senior year.

The injury occurred with 7:02 to play in the second quarter on a play where Gallaher was forced to scramble out of the pocket. He picked up two yards on the play but he limped off and didn't return, watching the second half with a heavy wrap of ice around his ankle.

An exam over the weekend revealed a fractured fibula and a torn ankle tendon that required surgery this week to repair. If he's able to return this season, it won't be until mid-November, Gallaher said.

The injury shifts Garner sophomore Lemond Johnson back to quarterback, a position he split time at last season. But Johnson playing quarterback isn't the issue; Garner coach Nelson Smith is confident in his abilities under center. It's the impact the change has on the rest of the offense.

"We're running the same stuff, and we've got a lot of confidence in Lemond, but the problem you have is now you're taking one of our best wide receivers and moving him to quarterback," Smith said. "We don't lose anything at quarterback, but it shuffles our receiver rotation."

Johnson led Garner with 46 yards receiving in the game, totaling that number in just a quarter and a half. His big 39-yard catch in the first quarter moved the Trojans to the Millbrook 23-yard-line, the closest the offense would get to scoring all night.

"I've seen it all in this series, from 3-0 to 38-41, so it's kind of hard to be surprised by whatever happens," Smith said. "You just know you're going to always get two teams who bring out the best efforts in each other. That never surprises me anytime these teams play."

Defense was the story of contest, with both teams moving the ball inside of the 20-yard-line only once. Garner's "drive" inside of the 20 wasn't even a drive. The Trojans moved the ball to the Wildcats' 15 when A.J. Clanton returned an interception on the final play of the half.

The Trojans took the ball to the Millbrook 23 with 45 seconds to play in the first quarter, long before the low-scoring tone of the game had been set. Garner elected to go for the first down, but Wildcats' lineman Lamaine Camara stopped Juwan Moye a yard short of the mark.

Garner's next scoring opportunity didn't come until the fourth quarter. The Trojans pushed the ball to the Millbrook 27 with 6:22 to play but were pushed back to the 31 when Johnson was sacked for a four-yard loss.

Connor Torruella came on for a 48-yard field goal attempt, but the kick came up a few yards short.

"I'm proud of the effort the kids gave," Smith said. "It's a hard game to lose, but I'm proud of the way we played and the way we competed until the end."

Garner got the ball back after the Trojans' defense forced another Millbrook three-and-out. But on the third play of the drive, Johnson and Moye just missed on a short pass in the flat that ended up in the hands of Millbrook's Chad Gray.

Gray, taking nearly the identical path that Clanton took on his interception return, carried the ball to the Trojan 16-yard-line before being pulled down from behind.

Millbrook put the ball in the end zone on the next play but was flagged for illegal motion, negating the score.

"Our mindset was to continue to be aggressive and try to score a touchdown," said Millbrook coach Clarence Inscore. "We were able to do that, but it got wiped out by a penalty. Field goals aren't a given at any level.

"We wanted to put the ball in the end zone."

The Trojans' defense had a much better night than it had in its two previous meetings with the Wildcats. After giving up 34 or more points in the last two meetings, including 500-plus yards of offense in 2009, Garner held the Wildcats to just 93 yards.

Three plays after the called-back Millbrook TD, Jonathan Bowman came on to kick the deciding 30-yard field goal with 1:53 to play in regulation.

Garner's attempt at a quick scoring drive failed, with four consecutive incomplete passes.

The Trojans' highly regarded and touted running game failed to produce much yardage against the Wildcats' defense. Garner ran for just 82 yards on the night (led by Clanton's 37 yards) and threw for 85 yards.

"The deciding thing will be how we bounce back from this," Smith said. "We've got a great group of kids who've worked hard so far. Now we just have to come back in here again and get back to work."