| |
By Pat Cole
pcole@mckenziebanner.com |
|
The War Eagles (8-1 overall, 5-0 in region) continued
their quest for a perfect regional record with a big
33-6 victory over the South Fulton Red Devils last
Friday night. Only one obstacle remains in their path, a
game with at Halls (3-6 overall, 1-4 in region) next
Friday night. For the War Eagles, the season has been
almost perfect, with the exception of a loss at Jackson
Christian School in week seven.
The game began slowly for both teams with no scoring in
the first quarter. The War Eagles won the coin toss and
elected to have first offensive possession, but a
penalty and dropped passes quickly gave the ball to the
Red Devils. The War Eagle defense, led by Dustin Seay,
Jeremiah Johnson, and Brandon Carter held the Red Devils
to a mere three yards and the War Eagles were again on
offense. Karl Erwin caught of a piece of the ball and
the War Eagles were in good field position at the
Devils’ 35, but were still unable to gain a score. They
did managed to convert for a gain of 19 total yards, but
ultimately turned the ball over on downs at the Devils
17. After allowing a single first down, the War Eagles
held and took the ball on the punt as the first quarter
came to an end.
With the ball at their own 39, the War Eagles began the
second quarter of action with a run by Ethan Thompson
for four yards. Kevin Gentile moved for five and
quarterback Chris Cannon held for a first down at the
50-yard line. Gentile gained three and four yards on a
pair of runs while Thompson gained the first down at the
South Fulton 38. Chancy DePriest took the ball for a
gain of eight on the reverse and Thompson ran off tackle
for five, bringing the ball to the South Fulton 14.
Gentile then moved quickly into the end zone for the
first score of the night at the 7:49 mark and after
Thompson was held on the two-point conversion attempt,
the War Eagles had a 6-0 advantage.
South Fulton’s next possession was also short-lived.
DePriest, Tony Wyatt and Thompson held the gain to a
mere three yards. Quarterback Adam Hicks took to the
air, passing over the middle of the line, but Gentile
was there to intercept and the War Eagles were in
possession at the South Fulton 37.
Gentile picked up two yards, a pass to Erwin was
incomplete and Gentile then gained a first down at the
18. Thompson moved the ball to the seven for another
first down and then picked up three, Gentile gained one
and Cannon took the ball into the end zone at the 3:11
mark. Once again the two-point conversion try by
Thompson was stopped short by determined Red Devils
Justin Grooms, Brian Cole and Chris Peat. West Carroll
now led 12-0.
Kenny Brewer held the return at the South Fulton 25.
Shane Vinson picked up two yards and the War Eagles
declined a motion penalty. A second motion penalty moved
the ball back for a second and 13 and Vinson moved on
the reverse for a yard with Brewer on the stop. After a
time-out, Hicks dropped back to pass and was sacked by
Brewer and Brandon Carter for a loss of three. With the
ball at their own 20, the Devils elected to punt and it
rolled dead at their own 35.
With only 1:50 remaining in the half, the War Eagles
took stock. After a failed reverse play for a loss of
two and an incomplete pass, Cannon found DePriest, who
passed the ball to Jeremiah Johnson for the touchdown.
The two-point pass attempt was broken up by Brandon
Allen and West Carroll held an 18-0 advantage at the
1:02 mark.
South Fulton was held for a loss of one by Brewer and
Wyatt and to a gain of one by Bradley Coleman as the
half concluded.
The South Fulton Marching Red Devils entertained the
home crowd during intermission. The Marching War Eagles
did not make the trip.
The Devils had the first offensive possession of the
second half, but strong defense by Seay, Cody
Cunningham, Johnson and Gentile, they punted the ball to
the War Eagle 33 where it rolled dead.
Gentile gained a quick eight while Thompson was held for
no gain. Cannon held for the first down at the South
Fulton 46. Thompson gained four and Gentile picked up
two. Facing third and four, Cannon dropped back to pass
and was sacked for a loss of seven. DePriest punted the
ball to the three-yard line.
Coleman, Seay, Johnson, and Erwin held the Devils to
only five yards on three downs and West Carroll received
the punt on a fair catch at their own 47.
Cannon passed the ball to DePriest on a quick slant for
a first down at the South Fulton 33. The Devils were
penalized for motion and Gentile was held for a loss of
two. Gentile gained four and then broke several tackles
to move the ball down to the 11-yard line. Thompson
moved untouched into the end zone for the score at the
2:24 mark as West Carroll took a 26-0 advantage after a
two-point conversion pass from Cannon to Johnson in the
end zone was good.
The Devils had a 21-yard return on the kick and took
over at their own 36. Once again however, the War Eagles
were explosive defensively. Erwin held to a gain of two
and a delay of game penalty moved the ball back to the
33. A deep pass was broken up by DePriest, but Hicks
took off and was run out of bounds at the 36. The War
Eagles were penalized for a late hit and the Devils had
a first down at their own 49. Erwin and Jason Lott held
the gain to only five as the third quarter concluded.
Hicks reached back to pass under pressure by Brewer and
although Brewer was unable to halt his advance, the War
Eagles were penalized for roughing Hicks and the ball
moved to the War Eagle. Carter held the advance to minus
four yards while Joe Gentile stopped the advance at the
War Eagle 19. J. Gentile then allowed seven yards before
he and Lott combined for the stop at the six. Carter
held the advance to no gain and then allowed a single
yard. With the ball at the War Eagle five, Wyatt and
Johnson ran Vinson out at the seven for a loss of two.
South Fulton took a timeout with 8:17 remaining and
attempted to pass the ball into the end zone, but
DePriest knocked the ball loose from the hands of Jake
Napier and the War Eagles took over at their own seven.
DePriest quickly took the ball to the 27 and Thompson to
the South Fulton 33. Two unsportsmanlike penalties
against the War Eagles resulted in Seay running the ball
from the 38. Gentile gained a first down at the Devils
31. Gentile and Johnson each gained three and Thompson
was held for no gain. With the ball at the 25, DePriest
was held to a loss of three and the Devils took over at
their own 28 with 4:28 remaining in the game.
Vinson quickly gained five and then took the ball left
and rushed 58 yards to the end zone. Daniel Choate
kicked the PAT wide to the left as the score was
narrowed to 26-6 with 3:46 remaining.
An onsides kick was trapped by J. Gentile for the War
Eagles at the 41 and with short yardage; West Carroll
quickly answered the Devils score. Johnson moved for
nine, Gentile for eight and Seay, running over
defenders, reached the end zone at the 2:14 mark.
Johnson’s PAT kick was good and West Carroll led 33-6.
The Devils maintained control of the ball through the
remainder of the game as Cody Wilson, Troy Simmons, Ben
Parker and David Hensley defended. The Devils managed to
get the ball to their own 46 before the final buzzer
sounded.
This week, the regular season ends as the War Eagles
travel to Halls for their final regional match of the
season. Undefeated in regional action and with a victory
over Lake County’s Falcons earlier this year, the War
Eagles have the regional title in their hands. However
the game at Halls will be one played for pride, to end
the season for a second straight year with no regional
losses.
