The Atlantic Trojans football team got off to a rousing start against Creston on Friday night with two early big plays to lead 13-0. That lead wouldn’t hold up as the Panthers scored 35 unanswered the rest of the way to win 35-13. Creston senior quarterback Eli Loudon threw for 216 yards and 3 touchdowns and also ran for another score, leading the Panthers to a 2-0 start to the season.

Atlantic started the game hot on two big plays by senior running back Tyler Moen. Moen intercepted a Loudon pass on the Panthers first offensive possession and returned it 70 yards for a touchdown. The Trojan defense then forced a turnover on downs to give Atlantic the ball back on their own 22. Moen then ripped off a 78 yard touchdown run on the first offensive play after the turnover and gave Atlantic the early 13-0 lead. It didn’t take long for Creston to answer. Two plays later Creston tailback Rylan Luther went 80 yards for a score. The Panthers then intercepted Trojans quarterback Garrett McLaren and then took a shot down field at the end of the first quarter. That shot paid off, with a 76 yard scoring strike from Loudon to Cael Kralik. That tied the game and the Panthers kept the momentum up until half. Loudon hooked up with Derek Paup for a 23-yard score on a 7 play drive. Then the Panthers got a great catch from Luke Latham near the goal-line at the end of the half to set up a Loudon 1 yard scoring plunge. The Panthers tacked on one more score on the first drive of the second half to provide the final margin.

Atlantic had three drives in the second half to the Creston 20 or closer,  but couldn’t come away with points. Trojan Head Coach Mike McDermott said the red zone execution is something they will have to work on.

Atlantic showed flashes of good play on both sides of the ball, but just couldn’t do anything with consistency throughout the game.Coach McDermott said that will be a focus in practice this week.

Creston improves to 2-0 on the young season and will face another strong test with a road trip to Carlisle next week. Atlantic falls to 1-1 and they will travel to face Clarinda next Friday night. We’ll have that game for the Trojans next week on KJAN.