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Goff sets single season mark as Cards crush McCreary Central SHANNON HUTCHINSON Sports Writer The Wayne County Cardinals hosted McCreary Central, last Friday night at Jewell Field, in the regular season finale for both teams. The Cards entered the non-district match up with a 5-4 record, while Central owned a 1-8 mark. The contest marked the 12th meeting between the two schools with Wayne County winning the previous 11, including a 53-22 decision in 2003 at Raider Field. Wayne County senior runningback Matt Goff raced into the record-book with 269 rushing yards on 20 attempts, all in the first half as the Cards pounded McCreary Central 62-26. Goff scored on touchdown runs of 10, 22, 13 and 60 yards with the last run good enough to eclipse the 1,884 single season rushing mark set by James Sloan in 1989. ³I played with James Sloan and have had the honor of coaching Matt Goff and both of those guys are in a very special class of players. Thatıs certainly excellent company to be with and while both of those guys have very different running styles, theyıre a lot alike in the fact their both big time winners. It was special to have James at the game and I think it shows his class that he was there to present Matt the ball when he broke the record. I know it was a special moment for me and I hope it was for our players and fans,² said Cards head coach Shawn Thompson. The Cards rolled to a 49-8 halftime lead and finished with 391 total yards on just 45 plays. The hosts dominated the action early and used a 35-0 second quarter advantage, to put the game out of reach. ³Our number one goal was to win the football game and try to stay injury free and we were able to do that. We hoped to get Matt the record at home, but didnıt want to get anybody hurt with the playoffs upcoming. It was just a great way to send all of our seniors out, plus our junior varsity was able to get some valuable experience,² said Thompson. Junior quarterback Ryan Steele also helped the effort with an efficient night. Steele totaled three touchdowns with 89 total yards. The junior connected on 5 of 8 passes for 57 yards with two scores, plus scrambled 3 times for 32 yards and added a 1-yard touchdown run. Junior reserve Bryant Gregory, a backup tight end and linebacker, made the most of his two quarters of action. Gregory led the defense with two interceptions and a team high 9 tackles, plus scored on touchdown receptions of 4 and 26 yards. ³Bryant had a big night on both sides of the football. We want our backups and younger guys to step in and make positive plays and he certainly was able to do that. Our junior varsity finished 6-0 this season and I see their confidence rising each day in practice and thatıs carrying over into games,² said Thompson. McCreary Central, which ended their season at 1-9 under first year head coach Jack Arthur, finished with 11 first downs and 274 total yards. The Raiders rushed for 222 yards, led by the 111 on 17 attempts of 5-11, 170 lbs. junior halfback James Jones. The visitors scored three of their four touchdowns after halftime, aided by sophomore quarterback Matt Tucker. Tucker finished just 6 of 16 for 52 yards with two interceptions, but managed two touchdowns on passes of 13 and 7 yards. Wayne County opened with the football and used just 5-plays to travel 60 yards and score on Goffıs 10 yard run. The Joe Coffey extra-point gave the Cards a 7-0 lead with 10:44 left in the quarter. After the Cardinal defense forced a quick punt, the hosts used excellent field-position to notch their second score. Ryan Steele ended a 5-play, 35 yard march with a 1-yard run as the extra-point pushed the lead to 14-0 with 6:39 left in the first frame. McCreary Central answered with their best drive of the half. The Raiders marched 87 yards and scored on a James Jones 41 yard run. The Ben Strunk conversion run closed the gap to 14-8 with 2:07 left in the opening period. The second quarter was dominated by a stingy Wayne County defense and an explosive Cardinal offense. The Cards scored on drives of 53, 65, 38, 26 and 60 yards to tally a 35-0 period advantage en route to a 49-8 halftime lead. Tyler King scored on an 8-yard run, while Ryan Steele connected with Joe Coffey on an 8-yard touchdown pass, the rest of the scoring belonged to Matt Goff. Goff scored on runs of 22, 13 and 60 yards in the period. Lost in the scoring and record-setting effort was a Wayne County defense that didnıt allow a first down, during the 35-0 surge. ³I think after the emotions of Senior Night settled in a bit we relaxed and played solid football. McCreary is rebuilding with Coach Arthur, but one thing theyıve done a lot this year is keep games close at halftime. We didnıt want to get into that situation and I was real proud of our guys for their disciplined approach to the game,² said Thompson. The Raiders closed the lead to 49-14, at the 5:26 mark of the third period. Ben Strunk scored on a 9-yard run, to cap-off a 4 play, 23 yard march setup by a Wayne County fumble. Wayne Countyıs defense returned the favor late in the third quarter. Bryant Gregory intercepted a Matt Tucker pass and returned it 35 yards to the Raiderıs 6 yardline. Three plays later Gregory was on the other end of Ryan Steeleıs 4 yard touchdown pass. The extra-point pushed the lead to 55-14 with :20 left in the third stanza. McCreary Central answered that score with an 11-play, 62 yard drive capped off by a Matt Tucker 13 yard scoring strike to Luke Watson. The conversion pass failed, leaving the score at 55-20 with 6:16 left in the final quarter. The Cards added their 9th and final touchdown of the night, setup by 49 yards, seven play march. Sophomore quarterback Jordan Bertram claimed his first ever varsity touchdown with a 26 yard pass to Bryant Gregory. Joe Coffey added the extra-point to push the score to 62-20, with 2:05 left in the game. McCreary Central added the gameıs final score with only :10 left in the contest. Senior Luke Watson rushed for 57 yards to setup Matt Tuckerıs 7 yard touchdown pass to Devin Gibson. The conversion failed leaving the final score at 62-26. A review of the defensive stats shows Bryant Gregory led the way with 9 tackles. Josh Bell, Corey Pyles and Jordan Steele all tallied 7 stops each respectively, as 25 different Cards on the roster registered tackles. ³Anytime you can get younger guys varsity experience in a winning atmosphere itıs a real positive. We need to get those guys all the experience we can, plus it was very important to keep our guys healthy going into the playoffs,² said Thompson. The win improved the Cards to 12-0 in the all-time series with McCreary Central. The series will be put on hold for the immediate future, as the teams couldnıt reach an agreement for a date in 2005. Up next for Wayne County is a 4th straight appearance in the state playoffs. The Cards travel to Louisville to face DeSales, this Friday night at 7:30 p.m. ³Weıre back to 0-0 and so is everyone else in the playoffs. We need to have a solid week of practice and go up there and see what happens,² said Thompson. For a complete preview of the playoff matchup check the related story inside this edition of the Outlook. Add a comment |
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