It’s been a successful few weeks for Coach Hatcher’s Trojans as they’ve gotten off to a 2-0 start after defeating rival McCallum in Taco Shack Bowl XXIII and Elgin on the road last Friday. Both wins featured Anderson’s high octane offense as they’ve ran up 119 points in the first 8 quarters of their season.
The victory in the Taco Shack bowl was a huge one, marking a third straight victory in the area’s most underrated rivalry. The Trojans have been dominant against the Knights as of late, but this year’s game may have been their best offensive performance. UTSA commit Max Gerlich completed 18 of his 28 passes for 300 yards and a school record 7(!) touchdowns and ran for 134 yards and another score. It was a dominant game by Gerlich and the entire offense ran through him. Ed Small had 8 catches for 103 yards and a trio of touchdowns, while Ben Hatcher finished with 2 catches for 111 yards and 2 scores. Tristan Waidelich and Zayden Sharp both added touchdowns of their own, and Dominic Mays carried the ball on the ground effectively for Anderson.
The defense was led by no other than middle linebacker Gage Webb who had 12 total tackles. Hodges Smith had 10 of his own, and Datrien Campbell brought down 9 Knights to round out the top 3. Liam McMillan and Max Middleton each got home for a pair of sacks on Mac QB Luke Dunham, and Grayson Lake had the lone interception for the Trojans.
Elgin was an even more dominant contest for the Trojans as they downed the Wildcats 62-20 behind a balanced ground attack and a 4 touchdown performance from Gerlich. Sophomore Jay Fullmer led a committee backfield with 136 yards and 2 scores on just 11 carries. Dominic Mays added 108 yards and 1 touchdown on 14 carries to compliment Jay, and Dean Krenek had 72 yards and a score of his own to round out the group. TCU commit Small was once again the leading receiver for Anderson as he grabbed 4 passes for 141 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Zayden Sharp caught just one pass, but it was a big one going for a 64 yard score, and Tristan Waidelich brought in his second touchdown of the year.
The defense got contributions from throughout its rotation as 18 different Trojans recorded a tackle in the win, but it was once again Gage Webb who led the group with a monster game. The “Mike” recorded 14 tackles (11 of them solo), 5 TFLs and 1 sack. As a whole Coach Holcomb’s boys got home for 5 sacks and put pressure on sophomore quarterback Dylan Owens all night. The secondary did its job as well, forcing Owens to complete just 51% of his passes for well under 200 yards. Jake Laibo grabbed an INT to top it all off.
Overall, the Trojans built up a lot of confidence in their first two matchups of the season and will certainly need it against College Station on the road. This week’s game should be a dogfight and it’s going to take everything this team has to come away with the victory. It could be one of the best games of the season, so I urge you to make the trek out to College Station and cheer on your Anderson Trojans! Remember, keep it with GoTrojansGo for all the latest news and updates surrounding Trojan Athletics.
