The Atlantic Trojan Football season came to an end Friday night as they fell 28-6 to the Bishop Heelan Crusaders in the opening round of the Class 3A playoffs. Although the offense had good plays, they failed to move the ball with consistency against a tough Crusader defense. On defense they struggled to contain Kasen Thomas and the Bishop Heelan offense early. The Crusaders scored on their first three drives to open up a sizable lead. Although the Trojans did hold Bishop Heelan scoreless in the second half, the game was already out of reach. The Crusaders were the better team. However, the Trojans played with grit and determination until the end and should hold their heads high on the accomplishments achieved this season.

As they have for much of the season when winning the toss, Atlantic elected to deferred to second half, giving the Crusaders the ball first. The Trojans flew down the field on the kickoff coverage and were right there to meet Jonothan Hope, who had bobbled the ball and was subsequently brought down at the 15 yard line. However, it didn’t take long for Bishop Heelan to drive 85 yards for the opening score of the game. A combination of a catch a run from Grant Whitcomb and a big gainer from Thomas quickly moved Bishop Heelan down the field and into goal-to-go. It would take just a pair of plays to get Thomas a four-yard score to put the Crusaders on the board.

Starting at their own 25-yardline, Atlantic’s first drive got off to a great start, picking up a first down with relative ease. However, the play after moving the chains, the Trojans fumbled the football, ceding it back to Bishop Heelan in plus territory. It took the Crusaders just five plays to capitalize on the Trojan miscue, as Thomas punched it in from the one yard line for his second rushing touchdown of the quarter. Down by two scores early, the pressure was now on Atlantic to respond. Again, the drive started well. Backed up on their own 10, Ethan McNeal had his best run of the night, 31 yards to get the ball rolling. The Trojans quickly moved into Bishop Heelan territory with some help from a pair of Crusader offside penalties. However, the drive quickly stalled with back-to-back negative plays, and the Trojans turned it over on downs. Although the Trojans did get a tackle for loss, the Crusaders quickly overcame it and drove down the field. Noah Conley would later scamper into the endzone from 10 yards out to give Bishop Heelan a three-point lead.

From here on out the defense for Atlantic was shutout the Crusaders. After a Trojan punt, they stripped Thomas at the Crusader 35 yard line and forced a punt on their following drive. However, the offense wasn’t able to take advantage of either. Atlantic turned it over on downs after the turnover, then late in the half came the second pivotal turnover. Under pressure, Zayden Parker zipped the ball over the middle where it was deflected back towards the line and intercepted by Thomas. Thomas returned the interception for his third touchdown of the game putting Bishop Heelan up 28-0 seconds before the half.

Although Atlantic pulled out all the stops and fought hard until the very end, little changed in the second half. Despite flashes from the Atlantic offense, they failed to consistently move the ball. On their second drive of the half, McNeal had a 48-yeard touchdown run erased by unnecessary roughness penalty that stalled out another drive that started well. Later, another turnover put a damper on a good-looking drive that featured a big Gavin McLaren run. Late in the fourth quarter, after forcing another punt from Bishop Heelan, the Trojans finally got on the board courtesy of a 5-yard McNeal touchdown reception. Defensively, the Trojans held firm all throughout the second half. Although it seemed like the Crusaders took their foot of the gas, they continued to try to push the ball down the field through the air. However, the coverage was great, and Atlantic was able to get pressure on Conley. After forcing another punt, the Trojans got the ball back one more time and looked to grab a final touchdown before season’s end. In the hurry-up, they moved the ball down the field, but came up just short, turning it over on downs at the four yard line.

Bishop Heelan was the better team. They executed at a higher level, took advantage of their opportunities, and was able to shut down the Trojan run game. However, Atlantic had their opportunities. Bishop-Heelan scored 14-points off of turnovers in the first half, in addition to the stalled drives. If you take the turnovers away, it is a much different ball game. Despite all that happened, the Trojans never packed it in, and head coach Joe Brummer was proud of the effort they brought.

Brummer also expressed his gratitude to the many hard-working seniors.

Although the season didn’t end the way anyone wanted it to, this Trojan team has a lot to be proud of. From securing their first playoff appearance since 2020, their first win over Harlan in 23 years, along with the many other memorable moments throughout the course of a spectacular season, this accomplished what it set out to do at the start of the season and Brummer is proud of it all.