Warriors Trample ‘Canes
The ‘Canes traveled to Wilkinson County last Friday and were defeated 43-0 by the Warriors, who improved their record to 4-2 and left the ‘Canes at 1-4.
Altogether, the team played without five starters for various reasons.
To further complicate matters, Octavious Epps, the quarterback, went down with an injury early in the first quarter and had to be replaced by freshman Keldrick Davis, who except for three pass interceptions, proved worthy for the remainder of the game.
However, the second play of the second quarter was when disaster struck.
The Warriors scored a TD on a 45 yard pass, went on to score four more TD’s and the half ended with them leading, 33-0.
During the second half, considering the score and the inexperienced players on the field, the ‘Canes showed some pride and toughness by holding the Warriors to only a TD and a field goal. Brad Lynch made several good punt and kickoff returns to midfield, almost breaking two, but the offense was unable to take advantage of the field position.
Athletic Director and Head Coach Huff described the scoring rampage the Warriors went on during the second quarter.
“The score was nothing to nothing at the end of the first quarter, but with 11 minutes to go in the second they hit a swing pass for a score when one of our young corners didn’t come up to stop it. After that we had four consecutive turnovers and they scored 27 more points during a six minute period and led us 33-0 at half time.
“We had to put a freshman in at quarterback, and he did about as well as he could do in a situation like that. He played four quarters on Thursday in the JV game and then to have to be thrown into the fire like that, it was a tough situation. You can look at the film and see that nobody quit, they played hard in spite of the situation and that says a lot about the team.”
Senior and leading rusher last year, Justin Brown, saw very limited action in the game. Coach Huff said, “Justin’s ankle has been hurt for about a month now. He helped us out a little on defense, but he just can’t cut very well so he’s not carrying the ball a lot right now. It hurts to play without him but you have to play with what you’ve got. We’re hopeful that he will be ready Friday night.”
Tomorrow night the ‘Canes will be playing at home versus the Warren County Screaming Devils. The Devils come to town with a record of 3-3, but haven’t played any opponents the ‘Canes have faced this year. However, a win would certainly place the ‘Canes on the road toward salvaging the season.
Coach Huff said, “They have a good offensive front line and they do a good job of getting after you up front. The run a winged T on offense backed up by a very athletic quarterback.
They play hard under a new head coach who has changed the defensive scheme.
They’re a good team and do a good job with what they have. Defensively they run a three-five-three and do a lot of blitzing with their linebackers. I expect it to be a tough game.”
RUSHING
Brown—14 for 68
Colvard—12 for 55
Juhan—4 for 34
PASSING
Davis—1 for 7, 10 yards
RECEIVING
Dunagan—1 for 10 yards
DEFENSE
Lynch—3 tackles, 1 assist
Jackson—3 tackles, 1 assist
Campbell—2 tackles, 2 assist
Jackson—1 fumble recovery