Iron Horses do it again!
The coach said the task would be a difficult task. But his players made it look easy.
The Philip Simmons High School junior varsity football team already owned a victory over Bishop England in the second week of the season, and now the Iron Horses faced a tough rematch. Philip Simmons coach Eric Bendig was concerned about the home field rematch because the Bishops are well-coached and would know the Iron Horses’ tendencies.
“Bishop England knows what we did, what was successful and they will have an answer for it,” Bendig said prior to the game. “They will bring all that they’ve got. They have good players and are well coached.”
Bendig didn’t mention the revenge factor. Beating a team once could be a matter of luck. But to beat a team two times in a single season takes talent.
The Iron Horses, who are in their first year of competition, made it look easy and made their coach look like a worry-wort. They cruised to a 42-6 victory over the Bishops to push their record to 4-0.
“We had a great week of practice,” Bendig said. “During the week, we talked about finishing. The first time we played, it was only for three quarters (because of bad weather.) I also told them no one remembers the last game. They remember what you do now.”
While the offense supplied all the fire power, the defense provided physicality, allowing the Bishops only 85 yards in total offense.
Quarterback Omaro Asby got the Iron Horses rolling with a 51-yard touchdown scamper in the first quarter and then it was time for running back Solomon Bess to do his best. He scored on touchdowns of 4, 7 and 14 yards in the second quarter, and at that point, it was game, set and match for Iron Horses, who took a 28-0 halftime lead.
The big lead gave Bendig an opportunity to play some back-ups and they responded.
Leading 28-0 after three quarters, the Iron Horses scored a TD that was set up by an Iron Horse miscue. The Iron Horses added two TDs in the final 12 minutes.
Early in the fourth quarter, Lee Brown Johnson returned the kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown. Nathan Newman closed out the scoring with a 4-yard TD run.
Asby finished with 154 total yards. He completed 5 of 6 passing for 66 yards and rushed 7 times for 88 yards and a score. Bess carried nine times for 50 yards and three TDs.
The special team’s play was superb. Felix Fryman was 6 for 6 on PATs and Brown Johnson scored on the long kickoff return. Bryant Collins caused two fumbles on kickoffs and Jaylen Richardson blocked a punt.
The defense had several standouts. Tripp Williams logged five tackles and Jaylen Richardson recorded four, including a tackle for a loss. Javier Smith also had four tackles while Will Ramey has three stops including a tackle for a loss. Newman caused a fumble.
“They’ve been playing great all year,” Bendig said. “I can’t be more proud of them.”
The Iron Horses have a big challenge this week when they host Wando, the school with the most students in the state. The Wando junior varsity team is 1-1.