Wayne County Outlook

Cards explode for 74-42 win at Casey County on Friday
Shannon Hutchinson
Sports Writer

The Wayne County Cardinals met Casey County last Friday night at Rebel Field, in an important district game for both teams. The Cards entered with a 4-3 record overall and 1-1 district mark, while the hosts owned a 0-7 mark.

The contest marked the 22nd meeting between the two rivals, with the Rebels winning the past two, including a 19-13 decision in 2003 at Jewell Field.

Wayne County totaled 468 yards of offense and 20 first downs en route to tying a school record with a 74-42 win.

Senior runningback Matt Goff rushed 22 times for 251 yards and scored six total touchdowns, while finishing with over 350 all-purpose yards, as the Cards improved to 5-3 on the season and clinched a state playoff berth.

“It was certainly great to pickup a district win on the road, against a team we’ve struggled with the last few years. We really challenged our guys this week and I think they responded the right way. Offensively we had several guys step up and play well and I think that all started in our blocking up-front,” said Cards head coach Shawn Thompson.

The offense had several players notch solid individual performances in the win. Junior quarterback Ryan Steele completed 7 of 14 passes for 104 yards and two touchdowns, while fullback Josh Bell tallied 55 rushing yards on 10 attempts with three touchdowns.

Bell scored on runs of 1, 1 and 3 yards, while tight end Joe Coffey tallied 4 receptions for 56 yards and a score.

Nine different Cards produced positive yardage in the win and five different Wayne County players scored in the record-setting effort.

“Matt had a big night to finish with six touchdowns, but I thought we had several other guys play well. Josh Bell really ran hard, I thought Ryan Steele passed the ball very effectively and I was glad we got a couple of touchdown passes, plus our receivers ran good routes, led by Joe Coffey’s effort. It was nice to have so many players step up and I really believe our blocking and effort were 110 percent improved from last week,” said Thompson.

Casey County, which dropped to 0-3 in district play and 0-8 overall, combined with Wayne County to get a new school record for combined points.

The 116 total points eclipsed the previous high set in Madison Southern’s 47-45 win over Wayne County in September of 2001.

The Rebels exploded for 35 points in the second half, after trailing 27-7 at halftime. Senior quarterback Kyle Long paced the attack with 265 passing yards, on a 12 of 22 completion effort.

Long passed for scores of 37, 61 and 18 yards, as Casey County finished with 437 total yards of offense.

“Casey County has several good athletes led by Kyle Long and Marcus Patterson. We attempted to substitute on defense late in the third quarter, but they left their starters in and really attacked our younger guys. With the weather being so bad this week our junior varsity didn’t get a lot of reps and it showed. We want to give our guys experience, but we can’t let the other team take advantage of our younger guys and possibly put them in bad situations. Once they cut the lead back to 46-28 we had to get our offense back in there,” said Thompson.

Casey County netted 35 of their 42 points after halftime, led by the tandem of Brandon Raney and Marcus Patterson. Raney, a 6-0 170 lb. senior offensive back, led all receivers with six catches for 144 yards and two touchdowns.

The senior also netted 102 rushing yards, on 10 attempts, highlighted by an 80-yard touchdown run.

Patterson added three touchdowns with over 200 all-purpose yards. The 6-1 180 lb. sophomore scored on receptions of 37 and 18 yards, plus returned a kickoff 90 yards for his second straight three touchdown effort.

“Casey County has several very good football players and they put some points on the board. Overall I thought our intensity was better this week and our first unit played pretty well, especially in the first half,” said Thompson.

Wayne County opened the game with the football and used 13-plays to march 61 yards and scored on a Josh Bell 1 yard run. The key play of the drive was Ryan Steele’s 4th down completion to Joe Coffey for 15 yards. Coffey added the extra-point as Wayne County owned a 7-0 lead with 7:54 left in the first period.

The Rebels knotted the score at 7-7 on the next series, on Kyle Long’s 37 yard scoring strike to Marcus Patterson. Teddy Bragg booted the point after, to cap off a 75 yard scoring drive with 4:42 left in the quarter.

The Cards regained the lead on their next series as the visitors used 4-running plays to travel 59 yards. Matt Goff rushed for 24 and 10 yards, before scoring from 7 yards out. The kick failed leaving the score 13-7 with 3:12 remaining in the opening frame.

Wayne County quickly forced a Casey County punt and scored on their third straight series of the game. The Cards used 6-plays to tally 52 yards and scored on Ryan Steele’s first touchdown pass of the season.

Steele connected with Matt Goff for a 38 yard touchdown pass. The reception, Goff’s first of the season, gave the visitors a 19-7 lead with 10:38 left in the first half.

After the teams combined to trade three empty possessions, the Cards added the final score of the opening half.

Matt Goff capped-off an efficient 4-play drive with a 53 yard touchdown run. Joe Coffey added the extra-point to push the lead to 27-7 with 1:13 left in the half.

Casey County was able to move the ball inside the Wayne County 20 yardline, but their drive stalled and the half ended with the score at 27-7.

“We played a pretty good first half on both sides of the ball. Coming off a tough week, I thought our guys played with the type of desire and intensity we must have,” said Thompson.

The Rebels scored on the second play of the third quarter when Kyle Long connected with Brandon Raney on a 61 yard touchdown pass.

The extra-point closed the gap to 27-14 with 11:04 left in the quarter.

Wayne County responded with an 8-play, 53 yard scoring march, ended by Ryan Steele’s 23 yard touchdown pass to Joe Coffey. Coffey added the extra-point to push the lead to 34-14 with 7:59 remaining in the third period.

“We thought we could pass the football in this game and I thought Ryan threw the ball well, plus all of our receivers ran solid routes,” said Thompson.

The Cards pushed the lead to 40-14 at the 4:22 mark of the third quarter. The visitors marched 65 yards in just three plays and scored on a Matt Goff 47 yard run. The extra-point failed, leaving the score at 40-14.

Wayne County’s defense held the Rebels without a first down on the next series and the Cards’ special teams responded with their first scoring punt return of the season. Matt Goff returned the punt 54 yards for his 5th touchdown of the night. The extra-point failed, leaving the score 46-14 with 3:04 left in the third stanza.

Casey County responded right back with a Brandon Raney 80 yard touchdown run. The extra-point failed leaving the score 46-20 with 2:43 left in the quarter.

The Rebels forced a fumble on Wayne County’s next possession and converted the turnover into points. The hosts used three plays to travel 40 yards and scored on Kyle Long’s 18 yard pass to Marcus Patterson. Long added the conversion run to close the gap to 46-28 with 11:45 left in the final quarter.

Wayne County used a 10-play, 56 yard drive, to push the advantage to 53-28. Matt Goff scored on a 5-yard run and Joe Coffey added the extra-point, at the 8:23 point of the fourth period.

The hosts scored less than two minutes later on Ricky Marrapodi’s 34 yard touchdown run. The Teddy Bragg extra-point closed the gap to 53-35 with 6:36 left in the game.

Wayne County’s Josh Bell returned the kickoff 58 yards to the Casey County 8 yardline and scored three plays later on a 1 yard touchdown run. Joe Coffey added the extra-point to push the score to 60-35 with 5:23 left in the fourth frame.

Marcus Patterson added his third touchdown of the night, on a 90 yard kickoff return, as the Rebels rallied to close the score to 60-42 with 5:09 remaining in the contest.

The Cards added two more scores in the final minutes to push to a 74-42 district win. Josh Bell scored his career best third touchdown of the night on a 3 yard run and sophomore reserve defensive back Bradley Baker returned an interception 20 yards for a score, to round-out the 50 points scored in the fourth quarter.

“The fourth quarter was wild, to say the least. We were able to substitute some, but when they had all of their starters in we had to make sure we win the game and we were able to do that. I don’t think I’ve ever been involved in a 50 point quarter,” said Thompson.

The Cards defense had several performances led by the 10 tackles of senior linebacker Josh Bell. Robert Corder added a career high 9 stops, as seven different winners netted five tackles or more.

“Josh Bell had a real good game running the football and certainly played like he’s capable on defense. I also thought James Foster stepped in the starting lineup and played a very solid game,” said Thompson.

Foster, starting at cornerback for the injured Tyler King, registered two tackles and provided solid coverage all night.

The win improved the Cards to 16-6 all-time against Casey County and assured the squad of at least the district’s #3 seed.

“We certainly wanted to stay out of the #4 seed and this win allowed that. We still have a shot at hosting a playoff game with a win over Corbin, so we have a lot of play for this week,” said Thompson.

Wayne County hosts Corbin this Friday night as 8 p.m. at Jewell Field, in the district finale for the Cards. Corbin enters with a 5-3 mark overall and a 2-0 district mark.

“Corbin is back healthy and probable playing the best football of anybody in this part of the state. We have to have a focused and intense week of practice,” said Thompson.

For a complete preview of the matchup see the related story inside this edition of the Outlook.

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