| Osawatomie fans faithful and proud |
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| Sports | |||
| Written by Gene Morris | |||
| Wednesday, 21 October 2009 07:00 | |||
If there was a state-ranking for fans, the Osawatomie High School Trojan fans would be No. 1 in Kansas. It is a fact. No matter what side of the now 10-decade Paola Panther and Osawatomie Trojan rivalry one is on, you have to respect the fans.  Looking across the football field Friday night, I was amazed. Osawatomie has long had great fans, but I was still more than a little shocked at how many people they brought with them for the big game Friday. I dare say the Trojans had more fans on their half of the field, overflowing onto the track, than the Panthers did. Now, I could be wrong on this, if they didn’t, Osawatomie sure brought just as many fans to the 92nd meeting in the Tom-Tom rivalry as Paola did. It was impressive to say the least. And, why not? The Osawatomie Trojans came into the game undefeated with a record of 6-0, ranked fifth in the state for Class 4A. It was a 6-0 game at the end of the first quarter with Paola driving for its second score. The Paola Panthers got on a roll, especially late in the quarter, scoring four times in the second quarter for a 34-0 lead at the intermission. This is when one has to stand up for the Osawatomie fans and applaud them. Not only did they show up in huge numbers to support the Trojans, the fans also stayed. Even down 54-0 in the fourth quarter, the Osawatomie fans did not waver. They did not head home early. Osawatomie stayed and supported its football team, its players, its town to the end. For their loyalty, the Trojans rewarded its fans by not giving up and putting a late fourth quarter touchdown on the board to deny the Panthers a shutout. Osawatomie came into the game with the area’s top rated offense, averaging 352 yards per game. Paola’s defense was well aware of the weapons Osawatomie had on offense and were prepared. The Panthers stopped the Trojans’ ground game, holding running backs Jameson Greenwood and Brant Johnson and quarterback Seth Jones and company to 53 yards in the game. Osawatomie threw the ball for 69 yards. Paola’s defense answered the challenge, holding Osawatomie to 122 yards of total offense, 230 yards less than the Trojans were averaging.
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