Charleston High School junior Treylin Couch rushed for a school-record 290 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Trojans to a 37-35 win over Mattoon in the 13th Coles County Clash Friday evening at O’Brien Field.
Couch broke an eight-year standing single-game rushing record in front of 5,869 fans at O’Brien Field to take back the Coles County Clash trophy and break a 10-game losing streak dating back to Sept. 13, 2024.
Couch broke Myles Decker’s single-game rushing record of 268 yards in a game against Rantoul in 2013.
“I think he was an inspiration toward the end,” Halsey said while fighting back tears. “Running the ball. I don’t know if I’ve ever had a [running] back pin his ears back and run that hard. Good for him, but I’m so proud of the man he’s become.”
After two rushing touchdowns by Couch, one going for 76 yards, and a pick-six by junior defensive back Grant Taggart, the Trojans opened up a 21-0 lead in the first quarter.
But Mattoon (1-4, 0-2) started chipping away at the deficit in the second quarter by throwing the ball after their run game saw no life, which led to 34 passing attempts by sophomore quarterback Brayden Hackett and 316 passing yards, mounted a comeback which put Mattoon trailing 24-21 heading into the final quarter.
“We got the passing game going a little bit. We got our quarterback some confidence, and then we were able to open up the running game just a little bit. And that helped quiet a bit.” Mattoon head coach Jarad Kimbro said.
Hackett ended the game with 54 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown and senior Shayden Neff ended with 30 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown.
Couch, despite a late third down fumble inside his own 20-yard line that allowed Mattoon to score a touchdown to make it a one score game, would not allow Charleston to lose the lead and found the endzone two more times.
Halsey said late in the game Couch was reinforcing his team to believe in him and that he has this.
By that time, Couch had taken a lot of hits and seen a lot of game action. He carried the ball 27 times and is an almost every-down defensive back.
Couch said controlling his breathing and taking short breaks when he needed them was how he was able to stay energized throughout the game.
However, with less than two minutes left with the score at 37-35, the Trojans faced a fourth down. Needing less than a yard with Mattoon out of timeouts, the Trojans (1-4, 1-1) kept the ball in junior quarterback Wyatt Gordon’s hands.
With the game on the line, Gordon took the snap and got stuffed trying to sneak it up the middle. He stayed on his feet long enough to spot space on the right side, and scampered across the line-to-gain to pick up the first down to win the game.
“I just kind of saw it out of the corner of my eye and decided it’s worth a shot because I wasn’t getting up the middle,” Gordon said.
Charleston was able to lift the Coles County Clash trophy for the first time since 2023 and has now beaten Mattoon in three of the last four years.
“It’s never another game when you’re playing Mattoon,” Gordon said.
Charleston will travel to face Mt. Zion next Friday. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
Statistics courtesy of Victory 103.9 FM.
Bryce Parker can be reached at 581-2812 or at [email protected].
