The Charleston Trojans lost their Apollo Conference opener to the Mahomet-Seymour Bulldogs Friday night 56-3 at Frank Dutton Field in Mahomet.
The game got away from the Trojans (3-1) with the first kick of the game, when Mahomet senior returner Brock VanDeveer fielded a squib kick at his own 12-yard line and ran it back 88 yards for a touchdown.
The Bulldogs (2-2) successfully recovered an onside kick on the ensuing kickoff, and capped a seven play, 42-yard drive with a touchdown, making it 14-0 before Charleston got to possess the ball.
When the Trojans did finally get the ball, they quickly went three-and-out. Senior quarterback Luke Bonnstetter was off target with his first two passes, and after a throwaway on third down, junior kicker and punter Max Weber was called on to punt for the first of six times in the game.
Things got even worst for the Trojans when senior punt returner Gavin Hammerschmidt returned Weber’s punt 74 yards for a touchdown.
Special teams were a problem all night for Charleston. After another three-and-out on the next drive, Weber saw the snap sail over his head. This happened again later in the game.
“We dug ourselves a huge hole against a good football team,” Charleston head coach Brian Halsey said after the game. “We knew it was going to be a war, and here we are.”
By the end of the first quarter, the score was 42-0, and Mahomet-Seymour outgained Charleston on offense 215 to negative 12.
“By no means is this any indication of our season,” Halsey said. “They’re well coached. They did a great job, and they whooped us.”
One of the only highlights of the game for the Trojans came right before halftime, when Weber was sent out to attempt a 47-yard field goal with one second left. Weber’s kick had just enough leg, and the Trojans scored their only points of the night.
Both head coaches reached an agreement to have a running clock at all times starting in the second quarter, after the first quarter took 48 minutes to play. The rules in high school football don’t permit a running clock until the fourth quarter, but changes can be made if both coaches agree to it. Because of this, Charleston had to call a timeout to let Weber try the kick, even though the play before was an incomplete pass.
Bonnstetter finished 5-for-15 passing for just 64 yards. He threw one interception in the third quarter, a play action pass on third down from the Bulldog 28-yard line. There was a miscommunication between him and senior wide receiver Chase Clough.
The interception was the only turnover by either team.
It’s a bounce back win for the Bulldogs, who were trying to overcome two losses in the last two games by a combined seven points.
“This whole week was all about us,” said Mahomet head coach Jon Adkins. “We had a sour taste in our mouth left over from last week against Sycamore and we felt that we let one slip away. So, we came into this game pretty hungry.”
Charleston will continue it’s conference slate with a road game against Effingham next Friday. After that, the Trojans will play their next three games in Charleston, with the Coles County Clash being held at O’Brien Field and then two home games after that.
“Sun’s going to come up tomorrow, we’ll get after it,” Halsey said. “We’ll be ready to play Effingham next week.”
Gabe Newman can be reached at 581-2812 or at ghnewman@eiu.edu.
