Shannon Hutchinson, Sports Writer
Monticello — The Wayne County Cardinals hosted Monroe County, last Friday night at
Jewell Field, in the season opener for both teams. The contest marked the
11th straight year the teams have met, as the Falcons claimed a 26-19 road
win to end the 2008 regular season, Monroe County was coming off a 12-2
campaign that produced a regional championship last year, while the Cards
posted a 7-4 mark that yielded a share of the school¹s first ever district
title.
Jackson Arnett, a 5-11 185 lbs. junior quarterback making his first
varsity start as a signal caller, responded with 316 total yards of offense
and 4 scores, as Monroe County scored the game¹s final 22 points, en route
to a 28-7 win. Arnett connected on scoring strikes of 80, 12, 5 and 16 yards
to three different receivers and finished 10 of 23 overall for 202 yards,
plus rushed for a game high 114 yards on 14 attempts.
³Arnett played a tremendous game and he hurt us with his arm and his
legs. We watched them scrimmage and thought Arnett was one of their keys. He
certainly was a big time difference maker in this game and with him
improvement, Monroe County will be right back in the hunt in that district
and region,² said Cards¹ head coach Shawn Thompson.
Senior wide receiver Neil Wilson showed why he is a Division One
prospect and All-State candidate with 4 receptions for 109 yards, which
included an 80 yard score.
Junior receiver Trent Tooley added 4 catches for 48 yards and 2
touchdowns, as Monroe County used 54 plays to total 323 yards of offense.
³I¹m the head coach and take all the blame for our effort. Give credit
to Monroe County and Coach Petett, but my goodness we really struggled
fundamentally on both sides of the ball. We have to go back to work on the
basics and have an open week to do it,² said Thompson.
The Cards were also a mystery on offense, as two drives totaled 140
yards, while the other 7 drives totaled a paltry 15 yards. The unit finished
with 155 yards on 48 plays and totaled 10 first downs.
³We didn¹t match their intensity up front and really struggled to move
the ball consistantly. We have to improve in all areas, but it all starts
with the line of scrimmage. We have to fire off the football and put a body
on the defense, plus we have to make sure of our alignment. Alignment and
assignments on both sides of the ball were lacking and that¹s very
disappointing. For the most part we have practiced pretty well, but it
certainly didn¹t show in this game,² said Thompson.
D.J. Hall paced the attack with 46 rushing yards on 13 attempts, plus
grabbed 2 receptions for 13 yards. Zack Stephenson faced constant pressure
all night, but completed 10 of 17 attempts for 81 yards and rushed 13 times
for 20 yards.
³Monroe County always plays an aggressive and swarming defense. We just
have to do a better job of getting off the ball and picking up our tempo. We
have to do a better job of being more consistent in our effort in all areas,
the thing that is we were able to move the ball well a couple of different
times, ³said Thompson.
The teams traded punts to open the game, without a first down, before
the Falcons scored first. Jackson Arnett connected on third down and 80
yards later Neil Wilson scored the game¹s opening touchdown. The extra-point
failed, leaving the visitors with a 6-0 lead, with 8:32 left in the first
quarter.
Wayne County responded with their only scoring drive of the night, as
Eric Rhule capped-off a 15 play, 62 yard march with a 1 yard touchdown run.
The John Gregory extra-point gave the Cards a 7-6 edge, with 1:33 left in
the opening period.
Zack Stephenson completed 4 of 5 passes on the series for 35 yards,
including three on third down to keep the drive alive.
³We mixed things up pretty well and controlled the clock on that drive,
but for whatever reason we didn¹t build on that,² said Thompson.
The teams traded empty possessions the next four series, before Monroe
County added a couple touchdowns late in the first half. The Falcons made
the most of excellent field-position on both of their scoring drives.
The visitors used 4 plays to travel 51 yards and score on a Jackson
Arnett 12 yard touchdown pass to Trent Tooley. The score was setup by
Arnett¹s 40 yard connection to Tanner Kendall. The junior quarterback added
a conversion pass to freshman Chad Wilson to push the score to 14-7, with
3:31 left in the second quarter.
Wayne County couldn¹t find an answer on offense as their next 3 plays
resulted in two negative yardage plays and a penalty, which forced the hosts
to punt.
The Falcons used just 4 plays to roll 27 yards and score on a Jackson
Arnett 5 yard pass to Chad Wilson. Arnett made the key play of the drive on
a 22 yard keeper, as the extra-point failed, leaving the score 20-7 with
just :28 left in the half.
The first half ended with the same score, as Wayne County lost a couple
players to injury and looked to regroup at intermission.
³We missed some things on defense that we worked on all week in
practice. We were just out of position and didn¹t break on the ball, or make
plays. The big plays they made in the passing game were all things that we
were familiar with, we just didn¹t respond. Anytime you have some players in
new positions, breakdowns can happen, but at halftime I still felt like we
were okay,² said Thompson.
The Cards¹ offensive unit opened the third quarter with the football,
but once again couldn¹t move the chains and was forced to punt. Monroe
County used 6 plays for 32 yards to notch the final score of the contest.
Arnett setup the score with a 14 yard run and then converted a fourth down
and long pass to Trent Tooley from 16 yards out, to push the score to 26-7.
The duo connected again on the conversion pass to push the score to 28-7,
with 7:10 left in the third quarter.
³We lost the battle of field-position all night. Three of their scoring
drives were started from midfield, or closer, so that¹s an area we have to
improve on, ³said Thompson.
Wayne County had an opportunity to add a touchdown in the middle of the
fourth quarter, but a 12-play, 78 yard drive ended with a fumble in the end
zone, which resulted in the game¹s only turnover.
The Falcons stayed on the ground the final 12 plays of the game and were
able to kneel out the clock, with an impressive 28-7 road win.
A review of the defensive stats shows Tyler Pace led the attack with 10
total stops, while Jesse Lowe and Dustin Dodd finished with 9 and 8 stops
each.
The Cards did hold Monroe County¹s leading rusher Tanner Kendall to
minus 13 yards on the night, but that was one of the few bright spots.
The squad lost senior Coty Bell and freshman Dagan Shelton to injuries
and the upcoming open week should allow for the other nagging injuries to
heal. At press time the status of both Bell and Shelton is unknown, but both
are major contributors to the team.
³We just have to go back to work and try to improve each day. Injuries
are the one part of this game that everybody hates. Hopefully we can get
everybody back, but you hate it for the kids that work so hard in the off
season. We do have an extra week with the open date, so that¹s a positive,²
said Thompson.
Up next after the open date is a home contest with highly regarded
Rockcastle County.
³I¹m sure they¹ll be excited to play us, so we just have to go back to
work,² said Thompson.