Pleasantville exploded out of the gate against Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont, and used the early momentum to overcome a late comeback effort from the Rockets, sneaking out a 21-14 victory, as heard live on the KRLS3 stream Friday.
It didn’t take long for Pleasantville to take charge of the game as a bad snap on the first offensive play of the game, followed by a bad decision, led to a pick-six from Trojans defensive lineman Trevor Daggett. After missing the extra point, Blayton Nilles made up for it with the second Trojans’ interception of the first quarter. Parker Sheets took advantage of the turnover, completing a 29-yard touchdown to Caleb Cook, but the two-point conversion would be stopped short. Another bad snap for the Rockets resulted in a safety giving Pleasantville a 14-0 lead after the first quarter. Midway through the second quarter, Jake De Joode got in on the fun, dragging multiple defenders into the endzone for a 17-yard touchdown. The extra point and Blayton’s Nilles second interception of the game gave the Trojans a 21-0 advantage at the half.
In half number two, Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont chipped away at the Trojan lead. The Rockets scored on their first drive of the 3rd quarter and scored again to end the quarter after recovering a fumbled snap, cutting the lead to 21-14. The Rockets were marching late in the 4th with a chance to tie or take the lead, but a fumble in Trojan’s territory was recovered by Pleasantville’s Peyton Major, which put the nail in coffin for a 21-14 victory. Trojans Head Coach Mack Jorth knew his team would need to be more aggressive to come away with a win.
“I was really impressed with how aggressive we were coming off the ball. It was a big point of emphasis from last week to this week to get a lot better in the trenches physically, get off blocks, attack the ball carriers, tackle the ball carriers in a much more aggressive style. And I feel like we did that really well.”
Pleasantville moves to 2-1 on the season with the victory. Next week, the Trojans will face a tough opponent in Sigourney-Keota.
Pleasantville’s volleyball squad will have their first major tournament of the season this weekend as they travel to Twin Cedars.
The Trojans are coming off splitting a triangular Thursday at Mount Ayr with the host and Clarke, putting their record at 2-3 on the season. The Trojans’ two wins are against Madrid and Clarke. Their three losses are to Earlham, Des Moines Christian, and Mount Ayr. Pleasantville will be looking to get to .500 for the first time this season. The tournament at Twin Cedars will be a quadrangular at Twin Cedars with the host, Ankeny Christian, and Murray.
The Sabres come into the tournament with a 3-1 record to begin their 2021 season. Twin Cedars’ only loss of the season is in straight sets at Seymour. The Sabres’ three wins are over Martensdale-St. Mary’s, East Union, and Bluegrass Conference foe Moravia.
The tournament at Twin Cedars High School will begin at 8:00 AM.