All Taegu American football players were summoned by the coaching staff to Camp Walker’s Hilltop Restaurant on Saturday afternoon for a celebration over pizza and game films.

They had good reason. On Friday night, Antonio Harris and Angel Hickman ran for touchdowns and the Warriors snapped a 18-game losing streak spanning parts of five seasons, blanking the Osan American Cougars 13-0 at Camp Walker’s Kelly Field.

“That was big for us, to win this,” coach Ken Walter said. “The kids needed that. We have some four-year players who had never won a game. They’re excited. There’s a swagger to them. They believe they can win every game they play.”

Zama American also enjoyed a fabulous Friday, winning its second straight game for the first time in three seasons, 18-8 at American School In Japan. The Trojans on Sept. 14 edged Robert D. Edgren 20-19.

South KoreaTaegu American 13, Osan American 0: Defense, led by senior end Daniel Garcia, ruled the day for the Warriors (1-1). The Cougars (0-2) penetrated into Warriors territory just once, to the 19-yard line late in the first half.

“Turning them back there, that was pretty much it,” Walter said. “The defense played really well.”

“Taegu’s defense was very disciplined and patient,” Osan coach Tony Alvarado said.

Harris put the Warriors on the board in the first quarter with a 4-yard run. Hickman capped the scoring with a 35-yard run in the second quarter. Another TD was called back on a penalty.

“We moved the ball. We did enough to win. We just didn’t finish our drives well,” Walter said. “That’s something we need to work on.”

JapanZama American 18, American School In Japan 8: At Tokyo, senior Ken Johnson made Mustang Valley his personal playground, scoring touchdowns on both sides of the ball to help the Trojans (2-2) pull away from ASIJ (0-2) in the second half.

Primarily a running back, Johnson has been used more on defense lately, according to coach Steve Merrell.

The move paid off in a 73-yard fumble-return for a touchdown in the third quarter that made it 12-2 Trojans.

Johnson added a 20-yard fourth-quarter TD run to cap Zama’s scoring. Josh Johnson first got the Trojans on the board in the second quarter with a 16-yard run on a reverse.

The last time Zama won consecutive games was in 2004.

“We haven’t won back-to-back in awhile. We took care of that,” Merrell said. “It’s nice to be winning. It makes the weekend that much better.”

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