Shannon Hutchinson, Sports Writer
Monticello — The Wayne County Cardinals open their road schedule this Friday night,
with a match-up against McCreary Central at Raider Field.
The contest marks the 13th meeting between the rivals, with the Cards
winning the previous 12, including a 62-26 home decision in 2004, the last
time the teams met in varsity play.
McCreary Central, coming off a playoff appearance in Class 4A in 2008,
returns two of the top offensive backs in the area, led by All-State
candidate Aaron Watts. Watts, a 6-2 senior quarterback, rushed 15 times for
174 yards with 3 touchdowns, plus passed for 50 yards and a score, as
McCreary Central rolled to a 40-24 season opening win at Pineville.
³Aaron Watts is just a very good athlete that¹s strong, fast, makes good
decisions and is an excellent competitor. He¹s a three sport athlete that
plays with a tremendous confidence and usually whatever game he¹s playing,
he¹s the best player on the field, or court. Defensively we have to be aware
of him at all times and do a good job of wrapping up on initial contact,²
said Cards head coach Shawn Thompson.
The Raiders are far from a one man show, as senior running back Zach
Roark showed that in the opener with 27 carries for 221 yards with 2
touchdowns, as Central totaled 445 yards of offense, with 395 of that coming
on the ground.
³Everybody knows about Watts, but last year in our scrimmage Roark
really hurt us with his hard-nosed running style. Roark is also a big time
player and if a defense keys too much on Watts, he can gash the defense up
the middle. I really think McCreary has as good of a one-two punch in the
backfield as anybody we face. I think they have maybe their best team ever.
They certainly have a lot of talent,² said Thompson.
McCreary Central will base their offense out of the I formation, but can
also use some Spread look. In their win at Pineville, the squad completed
just 2 passes, with both of those to Dustin Stephens for 50 yards and a
touchdown.
³We must win the battle of the line of scrimmage and play with a more
aggressive, swarming attitude. Central has a lot of weapons on offense, we
just have to play with a focus and attitude. We must know our assignments
and do our jobs,² said Thompson.
The Raiders may base their defense out of a 50 look, but can shift to
multiple looks, depending on the situation. In their opener the defensive
unit forced 4 turnovers, led by the 9 tackles and 2 interceptions of Aaron
Watts.
³Watts keys their offense, but also makes big plays on the defensive
side of the ball. Both Watts and Roark are players on both sides of the
ball, plus as a unit they are very aggressive on defense,² said Thompson.
Zach Roark added 8 total tackles in the season opener and Thompson knows
the offense must put up a strong effort.
³Offensively it all starts with consistent effort and not taking plays
off. We¹ve had to move some guys around due to injury, so one of our big
keys is getting off the football and getting to where we are supposed to
be,² said Thompson.
Wayne County will have to match the intensity and excitement of a Raider
team that is looking for the first win in a series that dates back to 1987.
³We know they have a lot of excitement and buzz around their program.
They feel this is an excellent chance to win, so we must be ready for four
quarters of aggressive, hard-hitting football. It should be a real challenge
for our team,² said Thompson.
The action gets started early on Friday evening as McCreary and Wayne
County Red will meet at 5 p.m., in the fifth and sixth grade game.
³I think that¹s a great idea for our youth league players and a great
opportunity to play. It puts our younger kids in the spotlight, before the
varsity game, so I feel it¹s a win-win situation for both programs. We are
always supportive of our youth league and middle school programs, plus try
to help any way we can. This is a good chance for our fans to watch some
hopefully future Cardinals,² said Thompson.
Kickoff for the varsity game is set for 7:30 p.m. Friday night, at
Raider Field. Details on that match-up, last week¹s Rockcastle County game
and an upcoming battle with Russell County, all will be in next week¹s
edition of The Outlook.