HOT SPRINGS, Ark. — The First Security Bank Trophy remains in the hands of the Hot Springs Trojans after Thursday night’s 52-7 rout at Fountain Lake.
It was a mismatch from the start, and even more obvious at the end with the Cobras having only 18 players in full gear. Statistically, the mismatch was obvious with the Trojans piling up 531 total yards to Fountain Lake’s 89.
The officials more than doubled the Cobras’ yards by flagging the two teams more than 30 times for nearly 300 yards. Hot Springs had 20 penalties for 180 yards.
“We accept the win; it’s a great win, and I hope the kids enjoy it,” said Hot Springs coach Darrell Burnett. “Still, it was bad football. You’re not going to win in 5A South with games like this. We’ve got a lot to fix. We really want to play a clean game, because when you’re playing Arkadelphia and other good teams it’s necessary to be successful.
Trojan coach praises Fountain Lake’s effort
“Fountain Lake’s players showed a lot of heart tonight. You have to take your hat off to those guys. They could be like a lot of other places and shut it down, and go to eight-man football. You got to remember this program (Fountain Lake) beat Malvern last year. Coach (Kenny) Shelton will get his ship right.”
The Cobras fumbled the ball away on their first two possessions of the game. Hot Springs capitalized on the first one when freshman T.J. Brogdon scored on an 18-yard run with 10:33 left in the first quarter. Juan Martinez’s PAT attempt was blocked.
It remained 6-0 for more than seven minutes. That’s when Brogdon caught an 18-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Isaac Shelor. Brogdon, who finished with six receptions for 148 yards, also caught a 47-yard TD pass from Shelor in the third quarter. Shelor was 15-of-26 for 247 yards.
Hot Springs’ depth a key factor in game
Six Trojan backs gained 284 yards, including a 78-yard touchdown jaunt by backup Raymond Jordan.
Hot Springs’ defense was equally dominating. The Cobras’ only touchdown came on a 40-yard pass from Wesley Campbell, who also kicked the extra point.
The Trojans struggled on special teams at times, yielding long kickoff returns and missing four PATs.
“The mistakes we had tonight are not just on the kids, its on us (coaches), too,” said Burnett. “We’ll be watching film tomorrow, and working in the weight room. The kids understand what’s coming.”
Fountain Lake treks to England next Friday night.