Wednesday, Sep. 01, 2010

Another tough night for Garner

The good news for the Garner Trojans football team is that it has no more opponents left on its schedule that reside in the Cap Seven Conference.

The bad news is that the Trojans find themselves 0-2 after opening the 2010 season with two heartbreaking defeats to Cap Seven teams. After a tough 3-0 loss to Millbrook to open the season, the Trojans once again fell just short at Trojan Stadium Friday night in a 21-20 loss to Broughton.

Broughton standout wide receiver Juston Burris turned in a spectacular show as his two long touchdown receptions coupled with a punt return for a touchdown helped the Caps to come from behind on three separate occasions to stun the Garner faithful.

After Garner's offense began to click for the first time on the night and quarterback Lemond Johnson found Jauwan Moye open in the corner of the end zone in the opening minute of the fourth quarter, the Trojans held a 20-14 lead.

A botched snap on the ensuing extra-point attempt, however, would prove costly, as Burris was poised to turn in some late-game heroics.

With just over four minutes remaining in the game, Broughton found itself down six and facing a third-and-three at its own 27-yardline.

Caps quarterback Will Cooper hit Burris on a buttonhook near the right sideline that appeared as though it would just net 10 yards and a new set of downs for the Caps. However, Burris, an N.C. State recruit, turned into the middle of the field after corralling the ball and then spun toward the sideline and out-raced the Garner secondary 73 yards to tie the game.

"He's a great player and made some big plays on us," conceded Garner coach Nelson Smith.

Hayden Pezzoni added the extra point to put the Caps ahead.

A resilient Garner team attempted to move the ball into field-goal range but could only get as close as the 35-yard line before back-to-back sacks put the game out of reach.

Burris accounted for more than half of the Caps' yards from scrimmage as the Garner defense came up big for the second week in a row to shut down the strong Broughton rushing attack.

Garner was looking for a spark on offense to begin the game, but it was the stingy Trojan defense that stepped to deliver the first points of the contest and of the season.

Gavin Wilson hopped on a Broughton fumble and raced home 33 yards to give the Trojans an early touchdown advantage.

Burris answered 38 seconds later as Broughton quarterback Will Cooper let fly down the left sideline and Burris calmly collected the pass and cruised for an 81-yard touchdown reception.

"That's why he's going to N.C. State," said Broughton coach Chris Martin. "He's a special kid. If we can get him in the field and we can get him the ball, he can makes things happen."

Still having a difficult time moving the ball on offense, a botched snap on a Broughton punt attempt led to a very short field for the Trojans on the Broughton 10-yard line.

Moye took it in on the very next play to send the Trojans back out in front 14-7 with 3:17 remaining in the first half.

Burris was waiting, however, as the Trojans punted on its next possession, and the senior speedster turned in a scintillating 75-yard punt return with just 33 seconds to go in the second quarter as momentum began to shift back-and-forth.

The Trojans mixed the I-formation with the spread offense in an attempt to find a rhythm offensively. The young Broughton defense, however, won the battle in the trenches and when the defensive line wasn't smothering the run, it was chasing down Johnson and not allowing the signal caller to look down the field.

"I thought our defense played outstanding," said Martin. "They gave up one big drive. We've got a young squad and hopefully we can build on this momentum."

A.J. Clanton started to get things going for the Trojans in the second half as 43 of his team-high 51 rushing yards came in the final two quarters. Demetrius Fairley contributed 27 yards of his own on the ground for Garner.

"It's what we've been doing for two years," said Smith of the offensive game plan. "[Broughton] tackled well and had people in the right spots. That's why we're here - we're gonna keep working.

"We're gonna keep doing what we've been doing."

Johnson was 8-for-17 on the night, which was good for 138 yards and the touchdown toss. Johnson's counterpart, Will Cooper, threw for 214 yards completing 12 of 30 passes.