Zama rolls over Edgren in D-II football opener

MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan — Thomas Diaz and Gabriel Simpkins picked up where they left off last year as Zama began the 2026 season by winning big on the road.

Simpkins rushed for three touchdowns and Diaz passed for one score and ran for two more in the Trojans’ 41-0 romp Friday at Robert D. Edgren. Garrett Allen was credited with 33 tackles — one for nearly every Eagles offensive play — and Andrew Romero caught a TD pass.

“Edgren was keying on him (Simpkins) the entire night and he was still able to make people miss,” Trojans coach Shawen Smith said of Simpkins, who scored on runs of 41, 14 and 96 yards.

Not very tall, low to the ground, Simpkins is “super strong, he can break tackles, it’s extremely hard for people to tackle somebody like him,” Smith said. “He has a natural shiftiness about him. You think you have him, then he bench presses you off and throws you to the ground.”

“We had no answer for him,” Eagles coach Mark Ganeb said of Simpkins.

Diaz has matured much since last season, Smith said. Diaz ran for TDs of 22 and 14 yards and tossed a 17-yard scoring pass to Romero.

“He sees the field a little better and his arm is stronger than it was last year,” Smith said. “He’s a better passer and we put our receivers in position to catch the ball.”

As for Allen, he had a fumble recovery in addition to being “all over the field,” Smith said. “He was the guy tackling Edgren just about every time.”

Bright spots for the Eagles were quarterback Liam McDonald, who rushed for 87 yards and was 7-for-15 passing for 87 yards, and Jacob Wolfe with seven tackles and a blocked kick.

“We have to work on the little things, work on tackling and wrapping up,” Ganeb said.

The Trojans host two-time defending Division II champion Yokota next Friday at 6 p.m. Edgren entertains Osan next Saturday at 6 p.m.

“It’ll be a different game,” Ganeb said.

Zama's Garrett Allen pushes Edgren's Liam McDonald out of bounds. (David Shepherd/Special to Stripes)

Gabriel Simpkins ran for three touchdowns against Edgren, including onee of 96 yards. (David Shepherd/Special to Stripes)

Zama's Elias Diaz snags a pass between Edgren's Scott Pallet and Christopher Weber. (David Shepherd/Special to Stripes)