Hyslop cruises in Trenton debut
TRENTON » For those who believe in positive omens, how about the fact that Greg Hyslop had a 6-0 lead six seconds into his head coaching career when his team was supposed to be setting up its defense.
Hyslop, who was hired as Trenton Central High head coach in June after eight years as a Donovan Catholic assistant, watched the Tornadoes win his debut with a 40-0 victory over Philadelphia’s Academy of Palumbo Friday afternoon in Week Zero of New Jersey high school football.
The game started in frenzied fashion for TCHS, which was kicking off. Bill Hackett stormed downfield, blasted the ball carrier to force a fumble, then scrambled after the loose ball before pouncing on it in the end zone with just six ticks gone.
“It was a (good) way to start the season,” said Hackett, while little sister Evelyn tugged at his arm, not overly concerned with his thoughts on the game. “I felt as if we had to set a tone on the very first play, and that’s what we did. Once I hit him, I looked up. That’s when I saw the ball bouncing, so I jumped on it. It felt real good.
“We were already fired up; our coaches gave us energy. So when I came out here, we got that first play and we got hyped up to do it again. We started off strong so we had to finish strong for the whole game.”
It was the start of a three-touchdown day for Hackett, who also caught a 25yard TD pass from Donovan Ford and had a 32-yard scoring run.
“I just thank my line for blocking, thank my receiver Prince Jones, who blocked for me, and Donovan for throwing me a good pass,” the senior running back said. “I just can’t wait for the rest of the season.”
It was a good overall start for Trenton (1-0), which also put the explosiveness of Ji’Ayir Brown on display. Brown scored on a 45-yard run in the second quarter and opened the second half with an 85-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.
Trenton rushed for 137 yards and Ford passed for 64, all in the first half. The QB also scored on a 36-yard run. The defense limited the Griffin to 68 yards of total offense and forced five turnovers. Hyslop inserted the reserves after the running clock was invoked with over 7 minutes left in the third quarter.
As the coach pointed out, Trenton had to recover from a little letdown after the early score, as it only led 6-0 after one quarter.
“It was intense,” Hyslop said. “Right after that we were a little shaky elsewhere. We have new coaches, and you score on the first play of the year; it’s not expected. So everything was shaky after that but we got better.”
Hyslop, who got an elementary school teaching job in Trenton last January, noted that Hackett came in fighting some health issues.
“Bill’s been battling injuries, nothing major, but I was a little worried about him,” he said. “The kid’s a gamer. An unbelievable football player. When he came out today, he showed me how much heart he has and what kind of football player he is when it comes to game day.”
Hyslop gave 10 different backs touches as he showed off some depth, and was then able to relax knowing the pressure of getting that first win was off his shoulders.
“It’s nice to get it out of the way,” he said. “Coming in, nerves are high with the kids, with me. We got the cobwebs out after the first quarter and played good football.”
Palumbo (0-1) Trenton (1-0) First Quarter T— Second Quarter T— T— T— Third Quarter T— T— 0 6 0 22 0 12 0 — 0 — 0 40
Hackett recovers fumble in end zone (kick failed)
J. Brown 45 run (R. Brown kick)
Hackett 25 pass from Ford (Naze pass from J.Brown) Hackett 32 pass from Ford (R. Brown kick)
J. Brown 85 kickoff return (kick failed) Ford 36 run (kick failed) Follow Rich Fisher on twitter @fish4scores