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October 15, 2005Titans crush AlpenaThompson, Gordon combine for nearly 300 rushing yardsByRecord-Eagle staff writer  For photos from this game, see our TC West vs. Alpena football photo gallery. As far as homecoming victories go, it doesn't get much better than this. Traverse City West's defense outscored the Alpena offense as the Titans rolled to a 44-0 victory. The victory clinches a playoff berth for the Titans (6-2, 3-1 Big North). West will play rival Central (5-3, 3-1) for a share of the league title next week. "We got in the playoffs - that's a good thing," West coach Matt Prisk said. "And it makes next week a lot like last year. We have a chance to win the conference and they have a chance to get in the playoffs and win the conference. "That's a great thing for our community." "It couldn't be better: our rivals and a showdown," West senior quarterback Tony Thompson added. "They need it to get in the playoffs and we want to beat them." It didn't take long for West to put a beating on Alpena (1-7, 0-4), scoring on four straight possessions in the first half en route to a 30-0 halftime lead. The Titans' defense even got into the act, swarming Alpena punter Jared Phillips after a bad snap for a safety. That came after West took a 7-0 lead on a 2-yard touchdown run by Eric Gordon and the first of six extra point kicks by Will Conklin. Gordon added a 2-yard TD run early in the second quarter while Thompson added a 12-yard scoring scamper and Ben Sleder a 20-yard scoring run on an option play. Thompson scored on a 37-yard run on the first series of the third quarter to push the lead to 37-0 and put the running clock into play. Thompson's second TD run came after a holding call wiped out a back-and-forth, tackle-shaking 57-yard TD run by Sleder. "That was awesome," Thompson said of Sleder's non-run, which prevented West from having three 100-yard rushers. "I couldn't believe him breaking all those tackles." West capped the scoring on a 34-yard TD run by backup quarterback T.J. Morris, who would have been Alpena's leading rusher by 18 yards. "That's sweet," Thompson said. "That's a credit to the defense right there." Thompson finished with 175 yards on 12 carries while Gordon added 110 on nine. "They've grown and matured," Prisk said of West's offensive line. "That's a group of kids where we had to have that maturity. We've also shuffled some kids around and found some different people that have got the job done." The TC West defense also got things done. The Titans sacked two Alpena quarterbacks four times and held them to 92 total yards, the majority of which came after halftime. "We just played Titan defense all night," Gordon said. "We lined up right pretty much the whole time." "We've been getting better and better every week," Prisk said of the defense, which posted its second straight shutout. "For us to be successful late in the season - whether it's week nine or playoffs, they had to improve and they've done a great job."
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