BIG PLAYS FUEL NEW-LOOK TMB TO SECOND STRAIGHT WIN
Tracy area high school sports fans got their first look Friday night at the new lights that glow over the high school baseball field, but it was the new lighting system at the football field that were shining even brighter.
And under the LED-glow was a Panther football team that put on a show worthy of those bright lights.
In an early-season matchup where TMB and United South Central combined for 815 yards, it was the blue-clad, big-play Panthers who walked off the well-lit tundra victorious with a 44-22 win that moved their record to 2-0.
Defense on both sides seemed to be optional at times Friday, but that does nothing to take away from the Panthers and their quick-strike offense.
Big plays indeed were plentiful in the first half, as TMB put up an astounding 30 firstquarter points without even registering a single first down — they didn’t need one:
• Big play No. 1 — It came even before some fans were settled into their metal bleacher seats when Jackson Kruse took the opening kickoff, found a seam and raced 76 yards down the right sideline for a quick 6-0 lead. It was Kruse’s second kickoff return of the season.
“On both of them, everybody is on somebody,” coach Ryan Kruse said of the special teams blocking. “He’s got to find a hole, obviously, but everybody’s blocked at the point of attack. Two them in two weeks is awesome; I don’t remember the last time we had one.”
“Nothing feels better than starting with a kick return like that,” said TMB lineman Brody Hauger. “The big plays bring the energy level way up and makes our team play so much better.”
“It set the tone,” Kruse said of his return.“Getting on the board early — that’s one of the biggest things for us. I had some really good blocks in front of me.”
• Big play No. 2 — After a false start moved TMB back to its 1-yard-line, Kruse found a streaking Aiden Sanow, and the senior end did the rest, sprinting 99 — yes, 99 — yards to pay dirt for a 14-0 advantage with 3:18 left in the first quarter.
“Aiden ran a really good route,” Kruse said. “The line blocked good, too. That shows that we can do anything; I mean, we’re back on our half yard line and we score.”
• Big play No. 3 — Kruse made it 22-6 with a 44-yard touchdown run. TMB went up 24-6 when Nolan Verlinde scored his second twopoint conversion.
• Big play No. 4 — One play after Kruse was sacked for a 16-yard loss, he connected with Ty Yackley, who sprinted untouched all the way to end zone for an 84-yard score to make it 28-6. Another Verlinde conversion put TMB up 30-6 with 34 seconds left in the opening quarter.
“It was pretty crazy — you get a kick return right away, then you’re on your 1-yard line and we get a 99-yard play,” coach Kruse said. “It makes everything a little easier, because they back off a little bit. Everytime we had a chance to make those plays, we made them.”
While USC was able to do its share of damage on offense — the Rebels rushed for almost 380 yards — TMB was able to come up with some key stops.
Facing a 30-14 deficit, USC went on a 12play drive and threatened to creep closer on the scoreboard, but the Panther D came up with a huge goal-line stand to keep USC off the board.
The Rebels were able to keep moving the ball on their next drive and once again threatened to score, but Yackley stepped in front of a Jake Ignaszewski pass for an interception. Nine plays into the ensuing drive, Kruse ran it in from 7 yards out to put TMB up 36-14 with 11.3 left in a crazy first half. Another Verlinde conversion sent the Panthers into halftime ahead 38-14.
PANTHERS The big win aside, coach Kruse said the TMB defense needs to improve moving forward, especially this week as the Panthers take on a Springfield team it has had problems with in recent years.
THANKS IN PART TO A DE-CLEATING BLOCK by Ty Yackley (right), Aiden Sanow completed the Panthers’ second big play of Friday night’s first quarter — a 99-yard touchdown catch-and-run.
TMB RECEIVER TY YACKLEY scored the Panthers’ fourth touchdown of the first quarter Friday against USC — an 84-yard score that put his team ahead 28-14.
“Hopefully, this wasn’t our best defensive night,” he said. “We had trouble getting to that outside play of (USC’s). They ran some sweeps and options, and we had trouble getting guys there. We missed a lot of tackles — tough tackles, but we’ve got to make them.”
Regardless, the Panthers are more than pleased with a 2-0 start.
Kruse finished with 281 yards passing and another 115 rush yards, playing a part in five of TMB’s six scores. Sanow had four catches for 138 yards, and Yackley had four grabs for 109 yards.
On the defensive side of the ball, Kruse and Sanow both had seven solo tackles — three of Kruse’s were sacks for a total of 25 yards.
