Zama stays perfect by keeping Edgren winless

CAMP ZAMA, Japan — Mention the names Thomas Diaz, Gabriel Simpkins and Garrett Allen and one might usually include Zama victory in the same sentence.

Diaz, the Trojans’ senior quarterback, rushed for a touchdown and passed for another. Simpkins, their senior running back, ran for two scores. And Allen, the senior linebacker, helped hold Robert D. Edgren to 54 yards total offense.

That all resulted in a 35-0 victory for unbeaten Zama (4-0) over the winless Eagles (0-4). It keeps the Trojans in the driver’s seat for host rights to the Far East Division II championship game scheduled for Oct. 23.

“He just breaks everything open,” Trojans coach Shawen Smith said of Simpkins, who ran for touchdowns of 17 and 54 yards. “It’s a sight to see. Once he gets out in the open, nobody can catch him.”

Diaz tossed scoring passes of 20 and 42 yards to Christian Cassidy and also rushed for a 17-yard TD run.

And Smith said the best may be yet to come from Diaz. “He’s got a lot of room to improve,” Smith said. “He’s still learning, but we like the results.”

Allen had “several key stops” to help Zama preserve the shutout, Smith said. “He’s definitely the leader on our team,” he said of Allen.

The game was played in nine-man format with a running clock throughout. Edgren only had 16 players available for the game.

Little things the Eagles accomplished showed signs of better things to come, Edgren coach Mark Ganeb said.

Jayden Marrero helped Edgren maintain possession with a fumble recovery. Kanoa Eda recorded several key tackles in the second quarter. Charles Richardson caught two passes and completed two in the fourth quarter.

“The Eagles were valiant,” Ganeb said. “We fought with all our might against Zama.”

The Trojans next host Yokota at 6 p.m. Friday in what could be a preview of the D-II final. Edgren next hosts Matthew C. Perry, also scheduled for a 6 p.m. Friday kickoff.