Shannon Hutchinson, Sports Writer
Monticello — The Wayne County Cardinals traveled to McKee last Friday night to face
the homestanding Jackson County Generals, in a big district game for both
squads. The Cards were coming off their first win of the season a week
earlier, a 42-22 decision at Casey County and another win in the district
would secure a state playoff appearance. The Generals were 0-6 on the season
and coming off a 56-24 loss at Garrard County, but a win over the Cards
would keep their playoff hopes alive. The contest marked the 3rd meeting
between the two schools, with Wayne County outscoring the Generals 115 to 8
in the previous two, which included a 60-8 win at Jewell Field in 2008.
The Cards scored on six of their first eight possessions, built a 41-0
lead in the third quarter and cruised to a 41-12 road district win. The
winners used 49 plays to total 291 yards of offense and 10 first downs, once
again led by senior runningback D.J. Hall.
Hall used 17 carries to total 192 rushing yards and added 4 touchdowns,
on runs of 13, 14, 63 and 12 yards. The talented stalwart once again
eclipsed the 1,000 yard mark on the season, as Wayne County improved to 2-5
overall and 2-1 in district play.
"I thought we came out a little slow to start with our intensity, but
after a few snaps really picked things up and played well. Our starters had
over 300 yards of offense and our defense forced four turnovers while
holding them to just a couple first downs, through three quarters. Overall I
was proud of our effort for about three periods, but our play in the final
quarter was unacceptable. We had negative yardage and three fumbles late and
our junior varsity can certainly play better than that. We have to play
better than that, that's two weeks in a row our younger guys have
struggled," said Cards head coach Shawn Thompson.
Wayne County was brutal in the fourth quarter, as the squad ran 13 plays
for minus 45 yards, plus had 3 fumbles and a botched punt attempt, which
setup two late Jackson County scores.
"Well the disappointing thing is we play a junior varsity schedule and
some freshman games, so it's not like we don't ever get any game experience.
I'm certainly happy that we got a win and overall played pretty well, but we
need to learn how to finish these things the right way," said Thompson.
Senior quarterback Zack Stephenson totaled 102 yards and 2 touchdowns in
the win. Stephenson rushed 7 times for 40 yards, with a 29 yard scoring run,
plus completed 4 of 6 passes for 62 yards, that included a 36 yard touchdown
strike to Eric Rhule.
"Offensively we made some big plays and the starting unit battled
through some wet field-conditions without a turnover. Zach's pass to Eric
might be the best pass he's ever thrown and D.J. had some big time runs, so
we had some good things to build on. We just need to run things more
consistently, we have too many plays that we are just missing an assignment
here, or there," said Thompson.
Jackson County, which dropped to 0-7 overall and 0-3 in district play,
was no match for the Wayne County defense. The Generals used 42 plays to
total just 59 yards and at halftime had more turnovers (3) than first down
(1).
Freshman defensive back Kyle Gehring, making just his third varsity
start, totaled 2 interceptions and now has 3, in the past two games.
"Defensively we've played pretty well in all of our district games. Kyle
Gehring is one of our young guys that just keeps improving with every snap
of experience. He's a very smart player and reads and reacts very well,"
said Thompson.
Both of the Generals' scores came well after the outcome had been
decided, with less than 3 minutes left in the game. Blake House recovered a
Cardinal fumble in the end zone and junior quarterback Joseph Campos scored
on a 2 yard run, with only :05 left in the ballgame.
"Hopefully our kids gained some confidence the past couple of weeks, but
we know things will be much more difficult this week with Somerset. We just
need to build on the positives, I thought we were able to do some good
things on both sides of the ball at Jackson County," said Thompson.
After a Jackson County three and out series to open the game, the Cards
put together an 11 play, 73 yard scoring drive. D.J. Hall had runs of 30, 1
and -1, before capping the march off with a 13 yard touchdown run, at the
3:31 mark of the first period. The extra-point failed leaving the score 6-0.
A General fumble on the next series, setup the second Wayne County score
of the game. Zack Stephenson connected on third and 11 with Austin Shearer
for 13 yards, which was followed by a D.J. Hall 14 yard scoring run. Eric
Rhule added the conversion run to push the score to 14-0, with 11:14
remaining in the second quarter.
A Kyle Gehring interception stopped Jackson County's next drive and the
Cards scored just two plays later as Stephenson threw a perfect 36 yard
scoring strike to Rhule. Dagan Shelton, making his return to the lineup from
injury, booted the extra-point to push the score to 21-0, with 9:25 left in
the first half.
Jackson County attempted to roll the dice on fourth down and short on
their next series and paid the price, as Josh Collins was stopped a yard
short of the first down, on the hosts own 29 yardline.
"Our defense really gave us some great opportunities in the first half,"
said Thompson.
Zack Stephenson scored on the next play from scrimmage, on a 29 yard
keeper, to push the lead to 27-0, with 7:07 left in the half. The
extra-point pushed the lead to 28-0, which was the halftime score.
The Generals did manage to pickup their only first down of the half,
while the Cards moved the ball inside the Jackson County 40 yardline twice,
but failed to capitalize.
Wayne County opened the third quarter with the football and used just
one play, a D.J. Hall 63 yard stamper, to put the game out of reach. The
extra-point failed, leaving the advantage at 34-0, with 11:45 left in the
third frame.
After another defensive stop the visitors tacked-on their final score of
the night, as Hall ended a 5 play, 59 yard drive with a 12 yard touchdown
run. The Dagan Shelton point-after pushed the league to 41-0, with 4:27 left
in the third period.
"Anytime your the favorite, focus is a big key, but I thought our kids
made the plays needed to make sure we won the game. We also were able to
play a lot of people in a win, which is always a positive," said Thompson.
The Cards had another couple chances to score, but penalties and
turnovers plauged their effort. There fumbles in their final four
possessions, setup two late Jackson County scores, as Wayne County cruised
to the 41-12 win.
A review of the defense stats shows senior linebacker Tyler Pace led the
effort with 10 tackles, while Dustin Dodd and Dagan Shelton added 7 and 6
stops each respectively.
"It was nice to get Dagan back, we certainly have missed him since the
early part of the Monroe County game, so to get him back a big help on both
sides of the ball," said Thompson.
Up next for the Cards is a home date with rival Somerset.
The Briar Jumpers, under the first year direction of coach Robbie Lucas,
are ranked in the top 3 in various class 3A polls and are a perfect 8-0.
"Somerset has a great football team and very deserving of all their
ratings. They have so many offensive weapons and defensively they do a great
job of forcing turnovers, so we know it will take a huge effort. We have
fall break this week, so hopefully we can battle through that, keep our
focus and have a great week of practice," said Thompson.
Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. Friday night at Jewell Field and for a
complete preview of the match up see related story inside this edition of
The Outlook.