Senior night could not have gone better for the Carrollton Trojans (4-0) as a little rain hardly got in their way of accomplishing a dominant 63-0 victory over the visiting Lithia Springs Lions (1-2).
The sheer talent of 5-star quarterback and USC commitment Julian Lewis, a stout defensive effort and several miscues and misfires on either side of the ball from the Lions all paved the path for this outcome.
The team got rolling quickly and early, scoring a touchdown on quite literally every possession except for one in the first two quarters.
The action kicked off on a drive that culminated in a 19-yard touchdown pass from Lewis to do-it-all running back Kimauri Farmer, who was a stout force in both the receiving and the rushing game. The Carrollton defense took care of business to follow it up, forcing a three-and-out.
Then a drive that took the Trojans all of one play to get to the scoreboard for a second consecutive time ensued, as Lewis floated a beautifully thrown 58-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Kiyun Cofer.
The Trojans led the Lions 14-0 merely three minutes into the first quarter, having set the tone for how the remainder of the contest played out.
That was composed of an 18-yard touchdown reception by wide receiver Ryan Mosley, an 18-yard touchdown reception by tight end Zion Cooley, a 55-yard score by Mosley, a 25-yard touchdown run by running back Kimauri Farmer, a 57-yard score by wide receiver AJ McNeil and a 3-yard rush to the end zone by running back Zhaiylon Harris after he burst out on a 48-yard run.
Carrollton had accomplished a 56-0 lead by the time they walked into the locker room at halftime. With the game all but completely won at that point, the Trojans took advantage of the opportunity to get their backups, including quarterbacks Dylan Bishop and Ty Sabo, some in-game reps.
Lewis was ace per the usual, finishing his night out 12-for-14 passing for 282 yards and 6 touchdowns, with a long pass of 58 yards. Farmer was the leading rusher at the half, already near the century-mark with 89 yards, while McNeil led through the air with 76 receiving yards.
Defensive back Jay Hagen led the charge on the defensive side of the ball with 6 combined tackles (5 solo) at halftime, while defensive lineman Zion Cooley also had brought the pressure with 2.5 tackles for loss and a sack.
Second-half action with a rolling clock saw even more points added by the Trojans’ offense and nothing more for the Lions.
Bishop connected with wide receiver Coleone Cosby on a 17-yard touchdown toward the bottom of the third quarter to make it 63-0, which would ultimately be the final score of the game.
For head coach Joey King, this victory on this particular night meant just a little bit more.
“This is my first senior class I’ve had go through four years,” King said. “This is my fourth year, so this group is going to be special to me. Seeing them perform the way they did in the first half, and then to get as many guys subs as we got in… I told those (backup) guys that the standard is still the standard. They did a good job of upholding that.”
The Trojans remain undefeated, moving to 4-0 with the victory. They will look to keep that streak rolling in a highly anticipated matchup against Gainesville (3-0) as the Red Elephants come to town on Sept. 13.
King knows what his team is up against.
“Gainesville is a really good team. They’re super athletic, super talented and very well-coached. So we’ve just got to make sure we’re disciplined. We don’t really talk about our opponents much around here, we talk about being better than we were the day before.”
But the goal remains the same as that of every matchup on the schedule.
“Our goal is to go 1-0… I think all natural competitors are wired that way.”