Glenwood’s Bertini scores five TDs, Trojans drop eighth straight to finish season 1-8
By Drew Herron - NT Sports Editor / Oct. 26, 2013
GLENWOOD – Atlantic’s season came to an end Friday night in Glenwood as the Trojans fell to the Rams 48-20 to put a cap on the 2013 campaign.
Senior quarterback Corey Bertini finished with five touchdowns to help lead Glenwood as the Rams built an early lead, and kept it intact the rest of the way.
Showing a willingness to pass some, but mostly throwing an option running attack at their guests, Glenwood jumped out to a three-touchdown lead in the first half, then finished strong in the fourth quarter to secure a victory that settles their record at 5-4 and gives them a winning season.
The Trojans drop their record to 1-8, and lose their eighth straight after opening the season with a win at Clarinda on Aug. 30.
It was an emotional night for the Trojans as they’ve played their last game until next year.
“As these guys go through life, they probably won’t find a large group that is as tight-knit as a football team ever again,” Atlantic head coach Nick Ross said afterwards.
“On one hand, it’s sad to see it end. On another, I am really glad that we were able to make for a memorable experience. Things didn’t go as well this season as we had hoped, as far as our wins and losses, but the bottom line is they made our program better. I believe they enjoyed this season, and they are better young men for being a part of it.”
Glenwood jumped out to a two-touchdown lead less than 10 minutes into the game when Bertini scored his second TD of the night from two yards out with 2:54 remaining in the opening quarter.
The Rams kept coming at the Atlantic defense on the ground, challenging the Trojans to stop them. Playing defense against the option calls for sound assignment football, and at times the Trojans were effective at it, at other times not so much. When things broke down, Glenwood exploited those weaknesses and made Atlantic pay with big gains and big plays.
“Defensively, we missed some tackles, and gave up some big plays that really hurt us,” coach Ross says. “They try to put you to sleep, and then hit you by finding the guy who isn’t doing his job. Obviously, a couple of times, they found a way to hurt us.”
Down 21-0 in the waning moments of the first half, Atlantic got a jolt of confidence late when junior quarterback Joe Walker connected with wide out Tristen Benn on a 20-yard touchdown pass, and the Trojans were on the board.
After Glenwood took the opening drive of the second half in for a score, the Trojans answered again, this time with a 48-yard touchdown run from Walker to keep within two scores.
However, Glenwood would score three unanswered touchdowns to pull away. Midway through the fourth quarter, senior tailback Jake Dvorak caught a short pass from Walker that he took 49 yards for a TD, but it was too little and too late to draw the Trojans back into the game.
The Trojans rolled up 390 yards of total offense, 245 of those yards on the ground.
“We did some good things and we moved the ball up and down the field,” coach Ross says.
Walker completed 3-of-11 passes for 89 yards, but was more effective with his feet as the junior ran for 123 yards on the ground, including the 48-yard touchdown run. Walker also threw for a touchdown, giving him two scores for the night.
Atlantic will now bid farewell to a senior class of 11 players as the program turns the page towards 2014.
Coach Ross says the team will miss the leadership.
“This group of seniors has been an awesome group of kids,” he says. “We really appreciate everything they’ve done.”
For the rest of the team, the coaching staff is encouraging the underclassmen to get involved and become year-round Trojans, representing AHS in as many different sports as possible in every season.
“The best way to get better at sports is to compete,” coach Ross says. “We want out kids to be involved in as many sports as possible. You can lift weights or go to the YMCA, but that is not as beneficial as wrestling or playing basketball. That’s how you get better.”
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