WCMS football now 2-0
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Warren County Middle School kept its early unbeaten streak alive Tuesday night, downing visiting Franklin County South by a 13-6 margin thanks to a pair of fourth-quarter TDs.
“We’re 2-0, but we’re an ugly 2-0,” said head coach Matt Turner. “I’ll take a win any day, but we’re ugly. We’ve got a lot to fix.
“This is the second game a lot of these guys have ever played, but they’ll learn. Next week’s going to get a little bit harder, and we’ll just have to keep improving a little more each week.”
The Pioneers only had two offensive series in Tuesday’s first half, with the first ending on a fumble and the second on a punt from deep in their own territory.
Taking over at the WCMS 42, the Trojans got a 30-yard run from Giordani Taylor and eventually took a 6-0 halftime lead when Shaquille Shedd went in from the 4-yard line.
Down 6-0 heading into the fourth quarter, the Pioneers went to their powerful rushing attack to get back into the game, as Morgan Wilcher bounced off a pair of would-be tacklers and rumbled 38 yards for a TD on the team’s second play of the final quarter.
A sack by Bryan Najera on the Trojans’ ensuing drive, and a fourth-down interception from Jay Hutchings, gave WCMS great field position to continue their rally, as they took over at the Trojan 27. A pair of Hutchings runs moved them closer to the end zone, and on second-and-8 from the 10-yard line, quarterback Sawyer Fults went to the air, firing a TD pass to tight end Mark Harvey.
“We had to do something,” Turner said of the decision to pass for the eventual game-winning TD. “They kept rushing their backers, so we told the offensive line to keep them out of the backfield, and we were going to throw it.
“You live by the blitz, and you die by the blitz. They all came, and left Harvey wide open back there.”
Franklin County had one final chance to tie or win the game, but Shedd’s inaccuracy passing the ball came back to haunt the visiting squad.
His final attempt, on fourth-and-6 from the Pioneer 48-yard line, fell just out of reach of a wide-open Chandler Hodges, allowing WCMS to take over on downs and run out the clock.
Fults completed both of his pass attempts on the night for 17 yards, while Wilcher finished with seven carries for 98 yards. Hutchings added 32 yards on six attempts, while Najera had two carries for 17 yards.
Najera, Wilcher, Casey Dunn and the rest of the Pioneer defensive unit had several big stops, and pressured Shedd enough that he completed just five of his 15 pass attempts.
Taylor used his speed to lead the Trojan running game, finishing with 59 yards on nine touches.
The Pioneers hit the road next week, taking on Shelbyville’s Harris Middle School Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.