Saturday, September 13, 2014

Trenton Fudge: "Tiny Dancer"

Trenton Fudge (right) fires up before his most productive
receiving game yet with cohort Jonathan Levenson (1)
and unidentified player. (Photo by Ed Piper)


"Tiny dancer in my head...", Elton John sings in his early hit.

Collin Rugg could be singing that today, thinking of the point-to-point connections he made on passes to Trenton Fudge against Fallbrook Sept. 12.

Fudge, not a massive 6'3" specimen like fellow end Brandon Bonham. Not even as big as Carlton O'Neal, the short and in-the-flat threat in the receiving corps.

But just as athletic, graceful, and acrobatic as the other two can be.

The place kicker showed this in a confidence-blooming stint against the Warriors.

"Do You Know the Way to Fallbrook?" could replace the Dionne Warwick song about getting lost going to San Jose, by this reporter's experience two years in a row, the first for the Viking girls basketball playoff win there last March.

But the Candy Man found his way around the passing routes he was assigned against Fallbrook.

With the Vikings leading 34-33, less than four minutes to play in the third quarter, Fudge grabbed a Rugg pass near the far right sideline, ran up the sideline, then cut back toward the middle against defenders to put the ball on the Fallbrook 15-yard line, It was a magnificent 58-yard gain.

Rugg was sacked by Warrior Nathan Montgomery on the next play for a 10-yard loss back to the 25, and shaken up on the play enough for Coach Jason Carter to insert backup QB Berkeley Stobo for one play. Stobo, good for him, completed a pass to O'Neal for a five-yard gain.

But then Rugg's pass to Fudge fell incomplete on third and 15.  So Fudge, apparently still out of breath from his long gainer, was called in for a field goal attempt from the 27--making it a 37-yard attempt. His kick fell short and the Warriors took over.


Copyright 2014 Ed Piper

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