The varsity football team lost 20-17 to the Terra Linda Trojans on October 3 on Tam’s homecoming day, bringing their overall record to 2-3 and their MCAL record to 1-1.
“We couldn’t stop them at the end, we had a chance to win but we just didn’t make the plays,” said head coach Jon Black.
The first half was a successful one for Tam. With nine minutes to go in the first quarter, junior and running back Tre’chaun Berkley ran for 65 yards, and a minute and a half later, Tam would score the first touchdown of the game. With senior Riley Walls’ successful extra point kick, that put Tam on top 7-0.
In the middle of the first quarter, junior and main quarterback Jack Harris exited with a knee injury and backup quarterback and sophomore Nicki Brass had to play the remainder of the game.
With two minutes left in the first quarter, Walls kicked a field goal making it 10-0 in Tam’s favor.
The second quarter would remain scoreless until the last 30 seconds, where Terra Linda scored a touchdown and successfully kicked the extra point making it 10-7 going into halftime.
The second half started with scoring. Just 30 seconds into the third quarter, Brass handed the ball off to Berkley who ran a 70 yard touchdown. With another successful extra point by Walls, the score would climb to 17-7.
That would be the last time Tam scored. The rest of the game consisted of the comeback by Terra Linda. In the beginning of the fourth quarter, Terra Linda struck back with a touchdown but missed the extra point, making it impossible for them to tie the game with a field goal.
The score remained 17-13 until just one minute remained in the game. The Terra Linda Trojans were able to complete a series of first downs and plays to get them into the endzone. The successful extra point kick made it 20-17. Tam was unable to strike back in the limited time.
The loss was attributed to the absence of Harris by coach Jon Black. “The first half went well until we lost our quarterback, then we couldn’t generate any offense, and that put us in a hole,” said Black. “[Harris] is the captain, he’s the leader….so losing a guy of that caliber has a pretty big effect on the team.”
In the loss, Tre’chaun Berkley ran a total of 211 yards. “I’m going to give it to my blockers and Jack Harris, because Jack Harris motivated me on every run, and my blockers blocked for me,” he said. “I was mad at first [about Harris’s injury], but then it made me go harder, and then I broke another long run.”
Nicki Brass reflected on coming in after Harris. “I was pretty nervous. I mean, coming in after [Harris] is hard,” he said. “Also, to come in that early in the game was a lot since we didn’t have a very big lead.”
Harris was able to comment on his injury following his MRI a few days after the game. “I sprained my MCL. I also bruised a bone in the lateral compartment of my knee. I’m diagnosed to be out two to three weeks depending on how my [Physical Therapy] goes,” he said. “I can’t be happy, it’s an injury, but on the better side of things, it could’ve been something much worse like an ACL [injury].”
For extensive coverage on the homecoming events during the game’s half time, click here.