Trojans take Glenn County grudge match

The heads are hanging high in Orland this week - at least those that were under Trojan football helmets.

The injury to Orland's regular kicker turned out to be a blessing in disguise during Friday's opener, as Brandon Smith's 5-yard touchdown pass on 4th-and-goal ignited a 26-point, fourth quarter surge in the Trojans' 38-14 win versus Hamilton at home.

Orland's Casey Gingrich turned in a Heisman-worthy performance with the huge blocks thrown by teammate Scott Batchelder. Gingrich rushed for 211 yards in 26 carries with one touchdown.

The host Trojans only led 12-7 through three quarters, their drive entering the fourth stalling on the 5-yard line. Facing an obvious three-point opportunity via field goal, Orland instead lined up for the touchdown and Smith connected with Jose Huerta.

The Braves defense, which defended Orland successfully throughout the third quarter, began to fall apart after Huerta's score.

Dillon Jones recovered a fumble for the Trojans and Smith scored on an 11-yard option to give Orland a commanding 26-7 lead with eight minutes to play.

Zach Swain, who racked up 90 yards in 13 carries to lead Hamilton's offense, scored on a 29-yard sprint to halt Orland's momentum momentarily.

The Trojans responded with two more touchdowns, however, to put the debut game of the Glenn County rivalry out of reach for Hamilton.

Gingrich scored on an 8-yard run and Kamare Jackson snared an end-of-the-game hail mary from quarterback Brett Burbank, returning it 95 yards for a touchdown.

Smith was 7-for-16 in the air for 100 yards, including a 24-yard touchdown pass to Austin Schmeltzer.

Huerta's 25-yard rushing score in the second quarter gave the Trojans their 12-7 half-time advantage, which held until they widened the gap in the fourth.

The Braves' William Rosen rushed for a 9-yard score to put the game's first points on the board. Rigoberto Sanchez, who was 2-for-2 in point-after kicks, booted his first through the uprights for Hamilton's early 7-0 lead.

Rosen ran eight times for 32 yards and teammates Kyle St. Louis and Tylor Hickingbottom recorded sacks for Hamilton. Burbank was 5-for-10 in passing for 47 yards and Cody Vanhoutte and Ismael Ortiz led Braves receivers with two catches apiece.

Huerta caught four passes for 47 yards for the Trojans, and added 34 rushing yards in four carries. Gingrich and John Evans both had sacks and Gingrich also recovered a fumble and ran a two-point conversion.

Orland (1-0) hosts Lindhurst this Friday while Hamilton (0-1) heads to Pierce.

Contact Paul Gadbois at 824-1036.

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

(H) Rosen 9 run, Sanchez kick 6:32

(O) Smith-Schmeltzer 24 pass, kick failed 3:42

Second Quarter

(O) Huerta 25 run, conversion pass failed 8:36

Fourth Quarter

(O) Smith-Huerta 5 pass, Gingrich conversion run 11:05

(O) Smith 11 run, conversion run failed 8:17

(H) Swain 29 run, Sanchez kick 7:23

(O) Gingrich 8 run, conversion run failed 2:47

(O) Jackson 95 interception return, no PAT 0:00

Individual Statistics

Passing

Hamilton (6-11-1-63): Burbank 5-10-1-47, Deitz 1-1-0-16

Orland (7-16-1-100): Smith 7-16-1-100

Receiving

Hamilton (6-63): Vanhoutte 2-36, Ortiz 2-14, Steward 1-12, St. Louis 1-1

Orland (7-100): Huerta 4-47, Wathen 2-29, Schmeltzer 1-24

Rushing

Hamilton (33-145): Swain 13-90, Rosen 8-32, Burbank 8-10, Ortiz 3-7, Deitz 1-6

Orland (41-288): Gingrich 26-211, Huerta 4-34, Hutchens 2-19, Smith 6-8, Jackson 1-8, Schumann 1-6, Butterfield 2

Total Offense

Hamilton: 63 passing + 145 rushing = 208 yards

Orland: 100 passing + 288 rushing = 388 yards