Zama quarterback Thomas Diaz looks for running room against Yokota's Quincy Brown and Corey Carpenter. (Michael Gasildo/Special to Stripes)

YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — Gabriel Simpkins and his Zama teammates did enough to win the game Thursday. But they didn’t win by enough to knock Yokota out of the chase for a Division II title-game berth.

Simpkins scored three touchdowns and Jin Robles two, each on lengthy runs, as the Trojans (3-2) rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit, scoring 22 unanswered second half points to rally past the Panthers 36-32.

The margin of victory was not enough to overcome the vast point differential the Panthers (2-2) amassed in their 56-35 season-opening win over the Trojans at Zama on Aug. 29. Zama likely needed to win by 22 points to stay ahead of the Panthers in second place in the D-II standings at season’s end.

The Panthers can grab that spot in the finals – set for Oct. 24 at Matthew C. Perry – by beating Osan (0-3 and outscored 125-14 this season) at home on Oct. 18.

Zama's Asher Jorgensen makes his way through traffic against Yokota. (Michael Gasildo/Special to Stripes)

A pair of Trojan brothers, Sonny and Toro McClendon, bring down Yokota's Quincy Brown. (Michael Gasildo/Special to Stripes)

Yokota's P.J. Magno looks for running room against Zama. (Michael Gasildo/Special to Stripes)

“We just didn’t execute the way we wanted to in the first half,” Trojans coach Shawen Smith said of Thursday’s contest.

Simpkins, who entered the game with 728 yards on 43 carries, rushed for touchdowns of 60, 42 and 46 yards. Robles added TD Runs of 42 and 40 yards for the Trojans. Zama covered a pair of onside kicks to fuel their second-half rally.

They overcame a strong offensive performance by Yokota’s Corey Carpenter. He ran for touchdowns of 6 and 55 yards yards plus a pair of two-point conversions. Quincy Brown added a 7-yard scoring run and P.J. Magno a 5-yard TD run.

Lucious Como gave the Panthers two points on a safety, while Brown recovered two fumbles for Yokota.

“We came out hard and fast” in the first half, Panthers coach Michael Woodworth said. “We were doing really well, but Zama got us on a couple of onside kicks which we weren’t ready for.”

Woodworth said Carpenter was his “everything back” during Thursday’s contest. “But it takes more than one person to win. It takes a team. Zama came back and won it. My hat’s off to them.”