Any way you look at it, last night's game was nothing but an old-fashioned whooping.
In a game which was nearly 90 minutes late starting due to weather, Treutlen County used a punishing ground game to throttle Bryan County, 27-7, Friday night at Redskins Stadium in the season opener for both teams.
Senior running back Za’Kian Tobler ran for 148 yards and a pair of touchdowns to lead the Vikings who gained 324 yards on the ground. Tobler had 846 yards last year as he helped lead Treutlen to its first playoff appearance in 17 years and first winning season since 2016.
If the delayed start impacted the Class A Vikings they certainly didn’t show it. Bryan County on the other hand came out sluggish and never really got started. The Redskins had minus one-yard rushing.
“They dominated us at the line of scrimmage,” Coach Cherard Freeman said. “We got outcoached, outplayed and they were more physical than we were.”
Saying the Vikings were more physical was a bitter pill to swallow for Freeman who has placed a premium on the weight room and putting strong, physical teams on the field since his arrival seven years ago.
Freeman was virtually at a loss for words as he searched for some positives in a game in which his team fell behind 30-0 in the first half and was never a factor.
Bryan County, playing in Class 2A this season, was a six-point favorite per the Maxwell Ratings. The Redskins will try to right the ship Friday night at Portal. The Panthers are another Class A team with high hopes for this season.
In addition to the start of the game being delayed by lightning there was a smattering of rain late in the second quarter but it played no role in the outcome.
Treutlen set the tone from the outcome as it took the opening kickoff and marched 65 yards on seven plays with Zion Brown scoring on a 3-yard run with 9:12 on the clock. Leo Brinson’s extra point kick was no good but that was one of the few things which went wrong for the Vikings in the early going.
Bryan County’s first series was a harbinger of things to come. Gerome Lee lost two yards to start the drive and Stephens Roderick then ripped off a 14-yard run only to have it negated by a holding call. On a fourth-and-27 Eli Koskela got off the first of his six punts on the night.
Treutlen needed only four plays to go 41 yards for its second score with Tobler shaking off several would-be tacklers on a 34-yard scoring jaunt.
After Brinson kicked a 26-yard field goal Gunner Ennis fumbled the ensuing kickoff and sophomore quarterback Major Morton promptly threw a 37-yard scoring pass to Peyton Miller. The Vikings made it 30-0 on their next possession when Chayden Johnson ran 23 yards untouched up the middle.
The Redskins responded with their most effective offensive showing of the night when they went 71 yards with the score coming on a desperation fourth-down 36-yard pass from Jamariyan Cosey to Kmari Dixon with 2:54 left in the half.
The Redskins’ offensive frustrations could best be summed up on a series in the fourth quarter which saw them get a first down at the one thanks to a 32-yard completion from Cosey to Dixon.
Four plays later they were forced into attempting a 21-yard field goal by Roberson which was blocked.
“Since I’ve been here it’s been a long time since a team ran the football on us like that and we didn’t get any yards,” Freeman said. “We could not move the football. It was frustrating and embarrassing but I know we’ll play better.”
TREUTLEN COUNTY 12|18|0|7 – 37
BRYAN COUNTY 0|7|0|0 --- 0
First Quarter
TC: Zion Brown 3 run (kick failed)
TC: Za’Kian Tobler 34 run (run failed)
Second Quarter
TC: Leo Brinson 26 field goal
TC: Peyton Miller 37 pass from Major Morton (Brinson kick)
TC: Chayden Johnson 23 run (Tobler run)
BC: Kmari Dixon 36 pass from Jamariyan Cosey (JD Roberson kick)
Fourth Quarter
TC: Tobler 3 run (Brinson kick)