No. 4 Mt. Zion scored 56 points in the first half to shut down Charleston and get a 70-0 win in its final home regular season game of the season Friday night.
The Braves racked up points fast, only possessing the ball for less than 14 minutes.
That is possible when their average starting position was at the 49-yard line, and they only had eight offensive possessions in the second half.
Mt. Zion’s senior quarterback Keller Stocks threw for 321 passing yards and four touchdowns. With 107 of those yards and two touchdowns going to senior tight end JC Anderson.
Two other Mt. Zion pass catchers surpassed the 90-yard mark; senior wide receiver Jacob Harvey racked up 91 yards and one touchdown and sophomore wide receiver Jaxon Good had 96 yards and a touchdown.
Some of Good’s yards coming from senior backup quarterback Koen Elwick who had 33 passing yards and one touchdown.
Junior running back Treylin Couch was a bright spot for Charleston, totaling 123 rushing yards on 19 carries. Bringing his total from the first three games of Apollo Conference play to 677 rushing yards and 68 carries.
With his impact, and sophomore running back Matt Hayes’ 42 yards on 5 carries, the Trojans only had two rushing yards less than the Braves.
Another area where Charleston almost had the same amount as Mt. Zion was first down. The Trojans picked up 16 compared to the Braves’ 18.
One big thing the Trojans struggled with was penalties. Getting 10 for 90 yards. One example of it hurting them was the only time a Trojan found the endzone, Couch on a run, it was called back for holding.
However, it was a penalty-heavy game all around, with Mt. Zion getting eight for 62 yards.
Turnovers also hurt them as they had three, one fumble and two interceptions.
Despite tying for the second most interceptions he’s thrown this season; Gordon did complete more passes in this game than he has in any other game this season.
“They’re good,” Charleston head coach Brian Halsey said. “They’re a lot better than us. Hopefully we can evolve and get to that level. I’m proud of our kids. We’re a class bunch, and I hope that showed.”
Charleston will travel to face Taylorville 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 baparker2@eiu.edu.
