The Longhorns failed to score in their first two games. Three quarters into Friday night’s confrontation with Cambridge, it looked as if the disappointing streak might continue.

With just under 9:00 remaining in the game, however, freshman Trent Rutledge dropped Trojans quarterback Taylor Kubik in the end zone for a safety. A few minutes later Michael Ferguson found Jonathon Withrow for a 9 yard scoring strike. And just before time expired, Austin Pile repeated the feat, hitting Zach Rockhold for another touchdown.

The offensive outburst dulled some of the sting from a 56-16 road loss and an 0-3 start to the 2012 campaign.

“It felt great,” Rockhold said of the scoring spree. “Hopefully we can convert it into more next week.”

Unfortunately for the Longhorns, Cambridge proved almost unstoppable in the first half. They opened with a 7 play, 57 yard drive capped by a 19 yard touchdown pass from T.J. Gregory to receiver Zane Peterson, who picked up much of the yardage after the catch. At 7:16 in the first, Gregory executed a perfect fake hand off, tucked the ball and sprinted 36 yards for the Trojans’ second score. He then hit Peterson again, this time from 30 yards out.

“They came out with an offensive plan we hadn’t prepared for,” explained Kimball head coach Chauncey Pedersen.

Indeed, Cambridge broke from the option run offense they had shown on film, spreading their formation and throwing the ball 20 times for 232 yards on the night. They led 42-0 at the half, tacking on one score through a pick six when Kimball’s Austin Pile was hit by a blitzing Jordan Volk as he released the ball.

“They’re a good squad,” Rockhold acknowledged. “We overlooked them and they proved us wrong.”

As the game progressed, however, the Longhorns showed signs that they were not yet ready to concede. Early in the second quarter, Gregory tossed to Trevor Fritz who broke downfield into converging Kimball defensive backs. The ball popped loose and Ferguson recovered. As halftime approached, Colton Stull slammed into Peterson, wrapped him up and whirled him down short of a first down. On the Trojans’ next possession, J.J. Poss hustled to trip up Kubik on a keeper.

“I didn’t let down,” Poss said. “I don’t think anyone on the team did, either.”

With less than a minute to play in the first half, Kimball’s offense sprang to life, as well. Fullback Bernie Bridge carried twice up the gut, bulling his way for a dozen yards and a first down on one, fighting through five tackles for 14 yards and another first down on the next.

“That gave the team the boost we needed,” Ferguson reported. “The offensive line was firing off the ball—we were clicking.”

After the break, Cambridge took advantage of a Longhorns turnover to put 7 more on the board. Kimball and Bridge countered with a short but inspiring sequence, the big fullback gathering in 31 yards before the hosts cut the drive short.

“We started getting positive yards,” Pedersen observed, noting his squad’s fighting spirit. “We moved the ball and Austin and Michael did a good job at quarterback.”

The Longhorns had yet to put their mark in a scoreboard, however. But that changed with the Trojans backed deep in their own territory in the final quarter of play. Kubik, the Cambridge quarterback, lost one yard running into a wall of white jerseys. On the next play he drifted into the end zone looking for an open receiver downfield. That’s when Trent Rutledge notched he team’s first points of the year with a safety.

“I just saw him and hit him,” the freshman recalled.

Kimball took the ensuing kick and hammered back downfield, covering 36 yards on 4 plays—the first 18 on a sweep by Pile, the final 9 when Ferguson tossed to Withrow in the end zone.

“It was a bad pass,” Ferguson admitted. “It was a fantastic play by Jonathon.”

As time ran down, the Longhorns pounced on one final opportunity. Cambridge punter Evan Jones shanked a 1 yard kick. Pile took the quarterback reins, found Ferguson for a 9 yard gain, ran twice and then flipped to Rockhold in the corner of the end zone from 11 yards out.

Despite the outcome, Kimball put points on the board, connected on 6 passes and almost doubled their rushing yardage compared to the previous two games—combined.

“We’ll take what positive we can out of this,” Pedersen said, pointing out that the team never quit, even when down 56-0.

“We just have to put the loss behind us,” he added. “We have a winnable game coming up.”