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Uni players form a U with their hands following Thursday’s victory. (PHOTO: Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone).
University High School’s football team went to a two-quarterback system Thursday night and it worked out fairly well for the Trojans, who celebrated their first victory of the season with a 13-6 non-league win over Estancia.
Sophomore Dylan Elmer did most of the throwing, racking up 157 yards. Some of the passes went to senior Justin Tribble, who had a busy night, passing for 20 yards, catching two passes for 46 yards and rushing for 31 yards. Tribble is considered the Trojans’ No. 1 QB but he was needed at other positions too Thursday.
“We had a lot of guys hurt tonight so we needed the best guys on the field and we’re not utilizing one of our best guys and so that was the strategy to use all the best guys we have,” said University Coach Vince Mesa. “They bring different skill sets to the table and so we had to utilize both of what they had to offer and I felt we did pretty good doing that.”
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Both quarterbacks were thrilled with the win.
“It was a great team win,” said Tribble. “I think my team came out hard and came out strong in the second half, defense played really well and the offense stepped it up a little bit. The win means a lot, it’s a step forward from our first two losses but it means we can step up and we know what we have to do to get better each and every game.”
“A lot of it had to do with our defense,” added Elmer. “Our O-line did a great job as they have all season. We had Justin step in, he’s our starting quarterback playing some wide receiver due to injuries. It was just a team win and we were able to put it together. We (he and Tribble) have different games so we bring different challenges to the defense. I’m more of a pocket passer, he’s very mobile and fast.”
Carl Oldham also had a big game for Uni (1-2) with six catches for 39 yards and an interception on defense. Cruz McMullens had four catches for 55 yards including a TD for the Trojans.
Mesa, the Uni coach, was happy for his players.
“It means a lot, this is the first win for this group and they had to learn how to win,” he said. “The first one is always the toughest and we learned from it and hopefully this momentum will carry into next week.”
Elmer connected with McMullens on a 16-yard TD pass in the first quarter to put Uni ahead 7-0. Jake Rabold kicked a field goal of 27 yards with 2:17 left in the second quarter, then hit a 40-yarder at the end of the quarter to give the Trojans a 13-0 halftime lead.
Estancia (2-1) got back in the game on the opening kickoff of the third quarter when Brandon Bettinghausen scampered 90 yards for a score.
But the Eagles were hampered by six turnovers: four fumbles and and two interceptions which prevented them from pulling off a second half comeback.
Estancia was led by Jeff Brown, who rushed for 144 yards on 18 carries.
University had a chance to put the game away late, but Estancia blocked Rabold’s 24-yard field goal to get the ball back.
However, Estancia turned the ball over on downs and Uni got the ball back and ran the clock out.
“I’m like 75 percent happy,” Mesa said of his team’s play. “At the end we got some penalties that put us in tough spots offensively for sure. We couldn’t get our momentum going in the second half. They did some good adjustments but we were able to move the ball, we just couldn’t finish.”
–Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com
