NEW HOPE — Building a successful football program is something that takes a lot of work from everyone involved, and New Hope got another fresh start Friday night as alumnus Seth Stillman made his debut after serving as offensive coordinator under Wade Tackett.
And the Trojans made their new head coach proud, using a smothering defensive performance to defeat Shannon 34-0.
“It feels great,” Stillman said. “We came out and played really hard, and that’s one thing we’re preaching this year. I couldn’t be more proud of these guys; we just came out here and got after it.”
The hard work on defense paid off, as the Trojans opened the season by forcing four turnovers, stopping the Red Raiders twice on fourth down and, most importantly, getting the shutout.
The New Hope offense was a bit less sharp but still played a strong game, particularly in the first half. Stillman noted that things look a bit different compared to New Hope’s offense in previous years, but he was proud of the hard work his players put in to prepare for their opener.
“It’s about establishing that offensive culture,” Stillman said. “We got a new offensive coordinator, and we were off a few weeks because of COVID, but until you get those game reps you just don’t know. We’re still installing and working to get things fixed.
“I thought the offense would be a bit behind the defense because the defense has been in place three years and the offense is brand new. I thought when we got the lead we stopped playing hard, thinking we were gonna win.”
Establishing a new offense will be an important part of Stillman’s culture change, as he looks to build a winning program with a team that went 6-28 over the past three seasons. He’s had a clear message to his players since day one, however: “It’s gotta mean something.”
“It’s gotta mean something to you, you know?” he said. “New Hope has gotta mean something to you. The lack of success, it feels like everything is against us at times, and we just gotta go about it with a chip on our shoulder. We wanna be the ones to change New hope, and we’re gonna be the ones to change New Hope.”
After returning the opening kickoff to midfield, the Red Raiders looked like they would go three and out. Overthrows kept bringing up fourth down, btu Shannon kept going for it and moved the sticks twice. But when J’Lynn Topps nearly picked off a pass at the goal line to bring up another fourth down, this time the pass fell incomplete.
And the Trojans set the tone from there, as a long pass from senior Ty Crowell and a few Zion Reed runs set up Crowell for an 8-yard scoring run.
The Red Raiders’ next drive saw them turn it over on downs on their own 25, which Crowell and company gladly took for starting field position. After a couple of Reed runs, Crowell again took it himself, this time for a 17-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-3.
The next drive was even better for the Trojans, as defensive back Javeon Henry set up the offense with an interception that gave the Trojans the ball 20 yards out. Reed powered in for the score on fourth down from the 4, but the PAT was no good after a fumbled snap. But Henry made an even bigger play on Shannon’s next possession, scooping up a fumble and running it 58 yards for the score to make it 27-0 before halftime.
The second half saw more of the same from the Trojans defense, while their offense was slowed down much more by the Red Raiders. They again took over deep in the opposition half after Shannon’s first drive, but couldn’t capitalize this time.
And when the New Hope offense sputtered after Crowell briefly left the game following a 12-yard run on fourth down, special teams and defense kept things going. After five penalties and a sack helped lead to fourth-and-25, the Trojans pinned the Red Raiders at their own 1 on the punt.
The defense pounced again, and a fumbled snap was recovered in the end zone for a touchdown by linebacker Salia Diabagate, and the point after made it 34-0.
New Hope’s shutout was secured with yet another takeaway by Henry, who got a second pick on the night.
“It feels good, especially having my team behind me the whole way,” Henry said. “We work on our reaction time a lot in practice, and not just seeing what the quarterback is doing, but keeping track of the receivers as well.”
He took a pretty tough hit after his third takeaway but when asked about it he shrugged it off and grinned. It was “worth it” to get the ball, he said.
New Hope, 2-0 including the opening forfeit over Caledonia, has a week off before traveling to Fulton on Sept. 17 to take on Itawamba Agricultural.
New Hope 34, Shannon 0
New Hope (2-0) 14 13 7 0 — 34
Shannon (0-2) 0 0 0 0 — 0
First quarter
Ty Crowell 8 run (Cole Crawford kick), 4:12
Crowell 17 run (Crawford kick), 0:57
Second quarter
Zion Reed 4 run (kick failed), 8:35
Javeon Henry 58 fumble return (Crawford kick), 5:17
Third quarter
Salia Diabagate fumble recoveed in end zone (Crawford kick), 0:47
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