Trujillo strips away Sumner’s season as Blanchet ends decades long drought

Braves running back and defensive back Oshea Trujillo ripped Sumner’s perfect season out from under it as Bishop Blanchet handed the Spartans their first loss of the season, 28-21, at Sunset Chev Stadium.

With No. 4-ranked Sumner leading 21-7 at the half, Trujillo had only one word on his mind — trust.

“Coming out of the half, my line told me to just keep trusting them,” Trujillo said. “I kept my trust in that they’ll make the blocks when we needed them.”

That trust came late in the fourth quarter as Trujillo went for a sweep, but instead planted his foot and cut through the middle of Sumner’s defense to score a 42-yard, game-winning touchdown to give the Braves the win — their first playoff win in decades — in the opening round of the Class 3A state football playoffs.

“We think it’s (our first win) since ’85 or ’75,” Bishop Blanchet coach Kyle Moore said. “We’ve scored 40 points four or five times this year, and I said ‘All you have to do is score half of that.’ … That was the goal: can we score 20 — can we score 21 to get back into it.”

And that’s what they did behind Trujillo who finished with 119 yards on 21 carries for the Braves.

Bishop Blanchet (10-1) opened up the second half with a successful onside kick before quarterback Alex Freeman connected with Clinton Allen Jr. on a 26-yard seam route to cut the Spartans’ lead to 21-14.

After both team’s offenses stalled, Sumner opened up the fourth quarter by moving the ball to midfield. Spartan receiver Tre Weed took a sweep down the sideline for a 25-yard gain.

But as Weed was being tackled, the sophomore was turned backwards allowing Trujillo to strip the ball from his hands and return it for five yards. The momentum shifted swiftly into Bishop Blanchet’s favor as Freeman hit Keaton Zimbelman for a 40-yard strike to tie it up at 21-all.

“We teach ball security here, and I saw that he had the ball out as he was being hit,” Trujillo said. “I just grabbed it right out of his hands.”

Sumner (10-1) had more fumbling issues its next two drives. As Spartans quarterback Luke Ross went scrambling, the ball came out and the Braves recovered it. Two plays later, Trujillo scored his game winning go-ahead touchdown.

“He does that all the time, as he’s a big playmaker,” Moore said. “He has the best instincts of anybody I’ve ever met.”

Blanchet recovered another fumble with just over two minutes to play to allow the Braves to run out the clock and advance to the next round.

“We just didn’t secure the ball like we should today,” Sumner coach Keith Ross said. “We gave up big plays and couldn’t get a turnover when we needed it … it’s a tough loss.”

Sumner’s Connor Wedington finished with 117 yards on 21 carries including a 46-yard touchdown to open up the second quarter.

This story was originally published November 13, 2015 at 11:28 PM with the headline "Trujillo strips away Sumner’s season as Blanchet ends decades long drought."