Iron Horses' historic first game a 'great team effort'

The Philip Simmons High School football team flexed its muscle in the school’s first victory in its first game on the gridiron, posting a 33-0 victory over Stall Thursday night in a junior varsity contest.

That made for one good situation at school the next day.

“In a varsity game, you don’t usually see your team for a couple of days, until Monday,” coach Eric Bendig said. “But with a junior varsity program, you get to see your team the next day at school because you play on Thursday night. You got to see them proud for the right reasons. They were proud of the size of the crowd. They were proud of their performance on the field. It was nice to see them collect on their investment.”

The Iron Horses’ investment was dedication, hard work and a commitment to be the best. The team was proud after the game, but hardly satisfied as they launch the new program.

Bendig was pleased with the crowd that attended the game. The home stands were packed as about 1,000 fans showed up for a piece of history.

“I have to admit, it was sort of whirlwind,” Bendig said of the opening game. “We had to fight the rain and there were a few lightning delays. I tried my best to make sure the game wasn’t postponed because of the weather.”

Philip Simmons was in control the entire game, taking a 13-0 lead at the end of the first quarter and pushing it to 26-0 at halftime. The Iron Horses were aided by a defense that gave them good field position and a potent running attack. The winners had 273 total yards in offense, including 213 on the ground.

Quarterback Omaro Asby completed 5 of 9 passing for 60 yards and two touchdowns, completing TD passes of 28 and 27 yards to David Raney and Javier Smith, respectively.

Asby rushed four times for 72 yards and a score while Solly Best carried seven times for 67 yards and two scores.

“I definitely thought we would pass more,” Bendig said. “But we took what the defense gave us. They plugged the middle so we ran outside and threw swing passes to the outside. They didn’t account for what we could do outside.”

Bendig said it was great to finally go up against an opponent in a game rather than teammates in practice.

“Overall, it was good to play a game,” he said. “It was good that we got to showcase our talent in a game with a big crowd in attendance. We still have some work to do, some kinks to work out. But for a first game, it was a great team effort. The defense did a good job all night.”

The Iron Horses were originally scheduled to play Oceanside Collegiate this week, but Oceanside couldn’t fulfill its commitment. Philip Simmons scrambled to come up with a new contest and will now play at Bishop England on Thursday night.

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