Shannon Hutchinson, Sports Writer
Monticello — The Wayne County Cardinals hosted border rival Clinton County, last
Friday night at Jewell Field, in the regular season finale for both teams.
The Cards entered with a 3-6 mark and were coming off an impressive 14-7
home district win over Taylor County, while Clinton County owned a 2-7
record. The contest was Senior Night and Homecoming on the 2009 schedule, as
the match up marked the 6th meeting between the teams, with Cards winning
the previous five games, including a 49-20 decision in 2008 at Bulldog
Field.
Wayne County has 12 seniors on the roster and they made the most of
their final game at Jewell Field, as the group paced the Cards to an easy
52-0 win. D.J. Hall rushed for 150 yards and 3 touchdowns, on 17 attempts,
while Zach Stephenson netted a season best 107 rushing yards on only 7
carries, with scores of 45 and 25 yards, as the hosts scored on their
opening 6 drives, to finish the regular season 4-6.
Eric Rhule added 46 rushing yards and touchdown runs of 20 and 2 yards,
plus Jacob Gregory scored on a 1 yard plunge, as seniors scored all 8 Wayne
County touchdowns.
"This has been a very good group of kids and I was happy we could make
their final home game a special one. As a team we played pretty well on both
sides of the ball and coming off such a tough district game, I thought we
might come out a little flat, but that wasn't the case at all. Our offense
made some big plays early to get us rolling and then we forced some
turnovers, which just added to the momentum," said Cards head coach Shawn
Thompson.
Wayne County totaled 435 yards, on 52 plays with 17 first downs and the
squad never punted, while finishing with 0 turnovers.
"This was a good team effort and to head into the playoffs with four
wins in our last five games, hopefully we're playing our best football at
the right time," said Thompson.
Clinton County, which had their season end at 2-8, struggled to stop the
Cards on defense and move the ball on offense. The Bulldogs had more
turnovers (5) than first downs (4) and used 32 plays to total 54 yards, with
46 of those yards on a Harley Brown run.
Brown finished with 9 carries for 59 yards, while quarterback Matt
Staton and running back Gavin McWhorter combined to rush 13 times for minus
17 yards.
"Defensively we were very active and as a unit I thought we played with
good intensity controlling the line of scrimmage. The last five games I
really like the way we've played more physical and aggressive, but that will
certainly be tested this week at a very good Breathitt County," said
Thompson.
Dustin Dodd and Eric Rhule led the defense with 10 and 8 tackles each,
while the squad totaled 8 tackles for loss with 3 quarterback sacks.
Wayne County opened the game on defense and forced a quick punt, which
against a fierce wind netted only 2 yards and quickly put the Cards offense
in business.
D.J. Hall scored on the first play from scrimmage on a 27 yard touchdown
run and Dagan Shelton added the extra-point to leave the score 7-0, with
9:42 left in the first quarter.
The Cards once again forced the Bulldogs to punt and setup their longest
scoring drive of the game. Wayne County used 3 plays to march 73 yards and
scored on a Zach Stephenson 45 yard keeper. The point-after pushed the lead
to 14-0 with 5:43 left in the opening period.
"Zach had his best night running the ball of the season," said Thompson.
A Dagan Shelton interception on the next Clinton County possession,
setup the next Cardinal score. The Cards used 3 plays to travel 28 yards and
scored on an Eric Rhule 20 yard run. The extra-point failed, leaving the
score 20-0 with 1:26 left in the first frame.
Wayne County scored on all three drives in the second quarter and put
the game out of reach, before intermission. Zach Stephenson capped off a 72
yard, 4-play march with a 25 yard touchdown run at the 10:01 mark of the
second quarter, D.J. Hall ended a 9-play, 56 yard drive with a 6 yard
scoring run and Eric Rhule finished off a 3 play, 36 yard series with a 2
yard touchdown run, with only 10 seconds left in the first half.
The Cards missed two extra-points and had a conversion run attempt fail,
which left the halftime score 38-0.
"Anytime your the favorite being upset is a big concern, but I thought
our guys played with a lot of focus. We had some big plays early and I think
things snowballed from that," said Thompson.
Wayne County scored both times they had the football in the third
period, on drives of 65 and 53 yards. Hall scored on a 1 yard run at the
6:24 mark and Jacob Gregory made the most of his only varsity career
attempt, with a 1 yard touchdown run, at the 2:37 point of the quarter.
The last score pushed the lead to 50-0 and meant running clock the rest
of the way, as the Cards were able to empty the sideline and play some
younger players.
"Homecoming is always a special time, so it was nice to get a big win
and allow everybody to get some varsity playing time. We certainly didn't
want to get anybody hurt with the game out of reach, with the playoffs this
week, plus it's nice to reward our younger guys," said Thompson.
The fourth quarter had only one score, but it was maybe one of the more
unique scores in Cardinal football history.
Clinton County was attempting to punt near their own goal line against a
very tough wind, the punt started downfield but the wind carried it back
into their own end zone for a negative 5 yard punt and safety.
The safety pushed the Cards lead to 52-0 and allowed Wayne County the
football back, to run out the clock, which the offense did 5 plays later.
Up next for the Cards is an opening round playoff date at last year's
Class 3A State Runner-up Breathitt County. The Cats are just 5-5 this year,
but are led by University of Tennessee commitment Channing Fugate.
"We have a huge challenge facing one of the most physical and athletic
running backs in the state, in the Fugate kid. He's a SEC caliber of recruit
for a reason, watching him on film what can I say, he's one heck of a high
school football player," said Thompson.
Breathitt County, like Wayne County, started the season slow with a 1-5
record, but Mike Halcomb's squad has rolled to four straight wins, in
impressive fashion.
"Breathitt County has as much tradition as anyone in eastern Kentucky
and Coach Holcomb has them playing their best football of the season at the
right time. They battled through some early injuries, but look at the teams
they lost to as well, their record is no indication at all of the type of
team we'll see Friday night. We need a good week of practice with a lot of
focus on the details. We're excited to be in the post-season and look
forward to the challenge," said Thompson.
Details on the matchup in a related story inside this Outlook.