Shannon Hutchinson, Sports Writer
Monticello — The Wayne County Cardinals hosted Rockcastle County, on Friday September
4 at Jewell Field. The Cards opened their season two weeks earlier with a
28-7 home loss to Monroe County, while the Rockets opened their schedule
with a 42-22 lost to Boyle County. The contest marked the 19th meeting
between the two schools, with Rockcastle owning a 14-4 series advantage,
including a 30-6 home win to open the 2008 season.
Rockcastle County totaled 375 yards of offense and made the most of six
Wayne County turnovers, en route to a 34-0 win. Senior quarterback Dustin
Bishop completed 7 of 13 passes for 130 yards, with scoring strikes of 39
and 26 yards, while junior running back Clark Rowe totaled a game high 166
rushing yards, on 21 attempts in the win.
"Rockcastle County has a tremendous program and once again they have a
very strong, hard-nosed team. We made way too many mistakes to have a chance
to win. Four of their five scorers were longer than 25 yard plays, with
three of them coming off our turnovers. We just have to do a better job in
all areas and that's my job as the head coach," said Cards head coach Shawn
Thompson.
John L. Saylor also had a solid effort in the win with 85 total yards of
offense and three touchdowns. The offensive back scored on runs of 35 and 1
yard, plus added a 26 yard touchdown reception.
"Rowe, Bishop and Saylor are all very good football players and they
make plays on both sides of the ball. Matt Bullens is also a big time player
on both sides, so give Rockcastle County all the credit, they played hard
and were the more hungry team, " said Thompson.
Bullens led the Rockets with 4 catches for 39 yards and paced the
defensive effort with 9 total tackles, plus a fumble recovery. Saylor
contributed 6 stops and Bishop added an interception, as Rockcastle County
won their 11th straight in the series.
"We want to play good football teams and both Rockcastle and Monroe have
made our opening of the season tough. The thing that's disappointing is we
have as much athletic ability and talent as any team I've had, but we just
haven't put it together yet," said Thompson.
Wayne County totaled 179 yards of offense and 9 first downs, but was
plauged by 6 turnovers. Senior D.J. Hall rushed for 106 yards on 19
attempts, as the rushing attack totaled 116 yards on 34 attempts.
Sophomore quarterback Shawn Dishman, making his first varsity start,
responded with a solid night. The signal-caller completed 7 of 11 passes for
63 yards, with one interception. Eric Rhule was his favorite target and
finished with 4 receptions for 47 yards.
"I thought Shawn stepped in and made some very good plays in difficult
situations. Facing Rock is always tough, but doing it in your varsity action
is extremely tough. The experience of this game is so valuable and hopefully
we'll build on the positive as we prepare for McCreary Central," said
Thompson.
Rockcastle County opened the game with the football and used 11-plays to
march 89 years and score on a Dustin Bishop 39 yard pass to Jamie Todd.
Bishop added the extra-point to push the lead to 7-0, with 6:10 left in the
open quarter.
The Cards looked ready to answer back, keyed by a D.J. Hall 31 yard run,
but a fumble on the snap stopped the drive at the visitor's 21 yardline.
"We had a nice drive that we just shot ourselves in the foot," said
Thompson.
The Rockets used the momentum to travel 75 yards, on 7 plays and score
on John L. Saylor Œs 35 yard touchdown run. The point after failed, leaving
the score 13-0, with :46 left in the first frame.
After the teams traded empty possessions, the Cards fumbled away a punt,
which setup the next Rockcastle County score.
The visitors used Clark Rowe runs of 11, 3, 4 and 12 yards, followed up
by a Dustin Bishop 26 yard scoring pass to John L. Saylor. Bishop booted the
extra-point to push the lead to 20-0 with 6:29 left in the first half.
The action was sloppy throughout the rest of the second quarter, as the
teams combined for 7 penalties and 3 turnovers, as Rockcastle County owned a
20-0 halftime advantage.
"We had several chances to make positives off their miscues, but our own
mistakes were tough to overcome. We turned the ball over almost every way
possible, we fumbled punts, kickoffs, snaps, carries and had an
interception, so we have to clean up a lot of things in all areas," said
Thompson.
Wayne County fumbled away the opening kickoff of the second half, which
led to the Rockets next score. The Rock used 5 plays to move 20 yards and
score on a Saylor 1 yard touchdown plunge. The extra-point pushed the
advantage to 27-0 with 10:45 left in the third period.
Another Cardinal turnover set up the final score of the game at the 3:09
mark of the third quarter. Clark Rowe ended a quick 2-play, 46 yard drive
with a 32 yard touchdown run. The point-after pushed the margin to 34-0, but
the Cards had a couple of opportunities to find the end zone.
Wayne County's next drive totaled 12-plays and 40 yards, but once again
stalled at the Rockets 23 yardline.
The Cards also had a chance to score on their final series of the
contest. D.J. Hall netted runs of 23, 2 and 7 yards, but a fumble at the
Rockcastle County 11 yardline, left the hosts blanked on the scoreboard for
the first time since a 35-0 2007 decision to the same Rockets.
"We were inside their 35 yardline five times, so it's not like we
couldn't move the ball. We just made way too many errors and mistakes, to be
able to finish off drives. We must continue to go back to work and hopefully
correct some things with practice," said Thompson.
Wayne County's defensive unit was led by the 10 total tackles each of
D.J. Hall and Jesse Lowe. Dustin Dodd and Eric Rhule added 8 stops each, as
the squad forced three turnovers in the loss.
"Both games we've played I think we're doing some good things, but our
negative plays are killing us. We just need more consistent effort and do a
better job of getting off the football on both sides of the ball," said
Thompson.
Up next for the Cards was a Friday night road trip to Raider Field and a
match-up with the 2-0 McCreary Central Raiders.
"I think being on the road for this team, could be a good thing. It's
not a long bus ride over there and it allows the guys to get away from any
distractions, while having the trip to focus. Some of our best efforts the
last few years have been on the road, so hopefully that will be the case. We
know McCreary Central has maybe their best team ever, so we must be a hungry
and intense football team," said Thompson.
Details on the game in a related story inside this edition of The
Outlook.