After a 59-37 Loss T.C. Falls to 3-4 on the Season
Hunter Langley
On October 12, T.C. Williams traveled to Hayfield in a game that was a test of the team’s ability to win the district. The Titans were coming off a huge win against rival West Potomac the week before.
The Titans started out slow in the first half; junior quarterback Robert Longerbeam struggled to find a rhythm and missed some throws early including an interception. The team allowed three unanswered Hayfield touchdowns to finish off the second quarter, making the score 25-7 going into halftime.
The T.C. offense came out strong in the second half. They traded touchdowns with Hayfield four consecutive times. The defense, however, had a tough time stopping the aggressive Hayfield run game. The Hawks had almost 500 total yards of offense including over 300 on the ground.
Longerbeam dazzled in the second half, where he ran for most of his 166 yards, scored two touchdowns, and converted for two points twice. Longerbeam said, “The team rallied behind me and helped me step my game up. [I] give them all the credit.”
Junior running back Anthony Eaton was hard to stop running the football too. He had over 100 yards rushing and a touchdown on the ground. Eaton said, “I felt I played hard, but there is always room for improvement.”
Junior safety and wide receiver Ricardo Ross played true iron man football. Ross said, “I feel like my play on defense could have been way better than it was. I could have played better offense; I just need to run more and stop jogging. I had three catches for 50 yards and I had a jump ball touchdown called back due to an illegal man downfield.”
After a strong game last week, senior safety Tavarus Brown was back at it against Hayfield. He had four tackles, 23 rushing yards, and a huge momentum-shifting 83-yard kickoff return touchdown–his second week in a row with a return touchdown. Brown said, “I am tenacious and eager to make plays for my team as a leader.”
T.C. has had its fair share of struggles this season on all sides of the football. One thing that they have been consistent in, though, is snapping the football, especially on punts. Junior long snapper Cade Linehan said, “Long snapping comes easy to me, it’s just like throwing the football. Steven [Gomez] is a soccer goalie, so he has a great set of hands back there and makes my job easier. As great as I am Luke Wilson is the real snapping god of the team.”
The Titans will look to rebound against a 3-4 Edison team that lost at the T.C. homecoming game last year. The Titans will also have to end the season with a strong surge to put them over .500 for the year.
