The Atlantic Trojans grabbed their third win of the 2021 football season with a 40-12 win at Saydel on Friday. The Trojans never trailed and had control of the game by halftime thanks to a Saydel special teams error and a couple of big interceptions.

Neither team was able to move the ball the first three possessions, but Atlantic caught a break on their second punt. Return man Austin Chally muffed the catch and Atlantic recovered the ball at the Saydel 30 yard line. 6 plays later Easton O’Brien scampered in from 7 yards out for the first score of the night. Saydel almost answered right back. The Eagles got all the way to the Atlantic 1 yard line but were stuffed on two runs. After a timeout the Eagles tried a pass to the right flat and Ethan Sturm picked off Judd Roberts pass at the goaline and brought it out to the 19 yard line with :13 seconds left in the first quarter. The Trojans were able to work all the way to the Eagles 8 yard line but settled for a 25 yard field goal from Lane Nelson to make it 10-0. Both teams traded empty possessions following the field goal. Atlantic went to punt it away and the ball sailed over Gannon O’Hara’s head. He was able to pick it up and run away from defenders and came up just a few yards short of getting a first down. The Eagles took over at the Trojan 49 but a holding penalty on 2nd down moved them back to their own 40. Then Colton Becker picked off another Roberts pass and returned it all the way to the 1. Caden Andersen punched it in on a quarterback sneak, putting Atlantic up 17-0. Lane Nelson would tack on a 33 yard field goal as time expired to end the half with a 20-0 lead for Atlantic.

The Trojans added a Caden Andersen to Jayden Proehl 18 yard touchdown hookup to start the second half. Dante Hedrington and Isaac Hansen would add touchdown runs for Atlantic later on. Saydel got their first score on a 90-yard kickoff return TD for Austin Chally. Judd Roberts hit Austin Maeder for a 22 yard touchdown pass early in the 4th for their other score.

The game was marred by a slew of penalties. 6 unsportsmanlike conduct calls were joined by a handful of personal fouls and three pass interference whistles. Frustration boiled over at the end of the game for the Eagles with three players being ejected with under a minute left due to comments made toward officials. It was an unfortunate end to the game and will affect Saydel’s roster for the final week of the season.

Atlantic improved to 3-5 on the season and moved to 2-2 in the district. The Trojans finish the season at home against Creston next Friday. Saydel fell to 0-8 on the year and 0-4 in district play. The Eagles are set to finish the year with a road trip to ADM.