MTZ football loses its first game

Brayden Trimble makes the one-handed grab in a 26-7 Mt. Zion loss on the road against Mahomet-Seymour.

By BLAKE FAITH
Staff Writer

The Mt. Zion football team lost its first game of the season last week. Mahomet-Seymour defeated the Braves 26-7.

The Braves received the ball first and drove down the field. Makobi Adams fired a deep-pass to Brayden Trimble who caught the ball with one-hand and picked up 46-yards, placing the Braves into the red zone. Adams looked to score, throwing the ball to Grant McAtee who caught the ball in the endzone, but the ball was brought back due to offensive pass interference.

The Braves turned the ball over and the Bulldogs scored on their first drive when Brock VanDeveer ran the ball in on an 8-yard touchdown. The extra point attempt was no good as the Bulldogs led 6-0.

The Braves’ offense continued to struggle, but the Braves’ defense kept the Braves in the game in the first half. The Bulldogs took a 12-0 halftime lead when VanDeveer broke open for a 43-yard rushing touchdown to give the Bulldogs a 12-0 halftime lead.

The Braves’ defense caged the Bulldogs’ first drive of the third quarter. The Braves’ offense rolled down the field but faced a 4th and 4 on the 19-yard line. Adams handed the ball off to Timble who reversed the ball back to Adams. Adams then threw a medium pass to Jacob Harvey who made the catch through contact for the touchdown. Gabe Shumaker nailed the extra point to narrow the Braves’ deficit to 12-7.

The Bulldogs went on to score 14 unanswered points and won the game 26-7.

“We squandered a lot of opportunities:,” Head coach Patrick Etherton said. “I think we had five trips to the Red Zone, came out with zero points on those five trips and three interceptions, which is uncharacteristic of us. We had thrown two interceptions in coming in. Our kids are smart enough to get it and Mahomet they’re a good football team and they got a kid that moved in from Champaign Central that’s a difference maker in the ball game.”

The Braves fall to 5-1 overall and 2-1 in Apollo Conference play. This week the Braves will face Charleston in the homecoming game. Kickoff will be at 7 p.m.

“We are going to fix what we did wrong and we’re going get it corrected and our kids are going to be ready to go next week,” Coach Etherton said.