WACO — Behind a valiant performance from quarterback Nathan Gerik the West Trojans ran away from the McGregor Bulldogs 41-14 at Waco ISD Stadium.
McGregor made too many mental mistakes and once the Trojans established a lead, the Bulldogs weren’t able to fight their way back. The Trojans Nathan Gerik intercepted Michael Irons from McGregor on the Bulldogs third play of the game, however West wasn’t able to capitalize on the turnover.
The Trojans were aided by a Bulldogs’ defense delay of game on the opening drive of the game, but the McGregor defense held strong and forced West to turn the ball over after going for fourth down.
The Trojans got the first points of the game when Jacob Bates exploded through the Bulldogs defensive front for a 15-yard touchdown run. West elected to try a two point conversion, but the pass feel incomplete in the back of the end zone. McGregor quarterback Michael Irons rolled out and spotted Imani Jowers wide open, but he over shot the receiver. The Bulldogs defense was able to give Irons a chance for redemption, when they forced a Nathan Gerik fumble and Ahmari Allen was able to pounce on it.
McGregor found themselves in a familiar situation, but this time Irons connected with Aaron Osborne for a 51-yard touchdown pass and the lead 7-6. The second quarter was the “Nathan Gerik Show” for West, as the quarterback was able to score two rushing touchdowns on runs of 29 and 17 yards.
“You get out of him everything he’s got,” Head Coach David Woodard explained. “Nathan commanded the offense tonight and he ran the ball really well and made some big plays in the passing game.”
When McGregor looked to be establishing their offensive rhythm, West defense shut them down. Coach Woodard spoke on the play of his defense saying
“Those front seven guys on defense a lot of them are three year starters and they’re tenacious the way they play,” Woodard continued. “The effort that they play with is better than a lot of people can handle.”
The Trojans were struggling to get going, when Gerik got loose for a 45-yard keeper and placed West in scoring position. The Trojans were able to take a 20-7 lead into halftime. The offensive struggles continued throughout the third quarter, as both defenses were able to hinder productivity.
McGregor would only be able to muster up one more touchdown drive on the night, but it was just too late as West comfortably had the game in hand 41-14. The Bulldogs have prided themselves on their running game this season, but the Trojans defense held McGregor to 18 total rushing yards on this night.
Gerik made sure the Bulldogs wouldn’t forget him after he ran 60 yards for his third rushing touchdown of the night.
“My team and I just came in with the right mentality and we all just worked together,” Gerik said. “From the beginning of the year we’ve been working for this and we always preach family, and we’re going to keep going as far as we can go.”
The Trojans offense finished the night with 381 rushing yards and 198 of those yards came from quarterbacks Nathan Gerik. Nathan played an amazing game tonight in all three phases of the game; defensively he had one interception and on special teams he recovered an onside kick.
The offensive side of the ball is where Nathan was the most impressive, he had a hand in four of the six touchdowns that West scored and completed 8 of 14 passes for 89 yards. The Trojans await the winner of the bi-district game between Trinity and Hitchcock.
The game will be played 7:30 p.m. Friday night at Waller ISD Stadium.
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