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Wayne County claims 36-23 win at Garrard County Shannon Hutchinson Sports Writer The Wayne County Cardinals met Garrard County last Friday night at Dyehouse Stadium, in an important district game for both teams. The Cards entered the 14th meeting between the two schools with a 4-4 record overall and coming off a 49-24 loss at Corbin. The Golden Lions entered with a 3-5 mark and coming off a 37-33 win over Casey County. Garrard County has won the last four games in the series, including a 49-14 win in 2004 at Jewell Field. The Golden Lions entered this yearıs match-up with very heavy hearts, as senior teammate Jonathan McCullough died in a tragic auto accident earlier in the week. "Our hearts certainly go out to Coach Stonebraker and all the kids on the Garrard County team. Both teams have been through some really tough times off the field the last few days and I was very proud of the way both teams responded. Garrard County played with a lot of emotion and I thought our kids stepped up and responded with a big effort," said Cards head coach Shawn Thompson. Wayne County scored the go-ahead touchdown on a Ryan Steele 14 yard run, with just 1:07 left in the game and Tyler King added a 44 yard interception return for a score, as the Cards rallied to take a 36-23 district win. Steele, a 6-1 senior quarterback, rushed for a season high 118 yards on 18 carries with 2 touchdowns, plus completed 11 of 23 passes for 118 yards, as the Cards totaled 282 yards of offense. Wayne County finished with 16 first downs and just 1 turnover, while improving to 5-4 overall and 1-1 in district play. "I thought in this game our money players really stepped up and made the plays. All 11 guys played hard together doing their jobs with a really good effort in all areas. Hopefully weıll build on this team effort," said Thompson. Garrard County, which dropped to 3-6 overall and 1-1 in district play, totaled 268 yards of offense and 15 first downs. Sophomore quarterback Stephen DeBord completed 12 of 28 passes for 151 yards and a touchdown, but was plagued by 5 interceptions. Wayne County sophomore defensive back Jordan Steele returned to the starting lineup, after missing five games with injury and responded with 3 interceptions and 6 tackles. "It was great to have Jordan Steele back. Three picks and six tackles, just shows how much we missed him on defense, plus he made some nice catches on offense," said Thompson. A Jordan Steele interception and return of 36 yards set up the gameıs first score. The Cards made the most of great field position and used six plays to travel 27 yards and score on a Ryan Steele 1 yard touchdown run. The Joe Coffey extra-point pushed the score to 7-0, with 5:50 left in the first quarter. Garrard County answered back with a 6-play, 61-yard drive, capped-off by a Justin Christian 29 yard touchdown run. Bruce Williams knotted the score at 7-7, with the extra-point, at the 4:22 mark of the first period. Wayne County would battle back to retake the lead on their next offensive series. The squad mixed the run with the pass and used 10-plays to march 60-yards and score on a Brent Gregory 7-yard touchdown run. Joe Coffey booked the point-after to push the lead to 14-7 with :09 left in the opening frame. "I really thought our guys came out with better intensity and it showed on the scoreboard. We knew they would come out with a lot of emotion and intensity, so I was very happy with the way our guys responded," said Thompson. Wayne Countyıs only turnover of the night set up the only score of the second quarter. The Cards fumbled away the football on their own 11 yard line, right after a Garrard County drive was stalled on the 5 yard line. The Golden Lions made some noise with their second opportunity of the quarter and added a 26 yard field goal by Justin Christian. The kick closed the Cardsı lead to 14-10, with 6:11 left in the opening half. "Our defense really stepped up and made some big plays. That was huge in the second quarter to allow them inside the 10 yard line twice and hold them to just one field goal," said Thompson. The Cards had two more offensive drives in the half, but neither produced any points. The first series stalled at the Garrard County 42 yard line, while the final series ended with a 37 yard field goal attempt that was blocked. Wayne County enjoyed a 14-10 halftime advantage. Garrard County opened the second half with the football and moved the ball to the Wayne County 20 yard line. Junior safety Wesley Dick picked-off a Stephen DeBord pass attempt at the 4 yard line, as the Cards defensive unit once again made the big play. "Wesley, Jordan and Tyler King all had big interceptions and thatıs something weıve really challenged this team on. We have to make big plays when given the opportunity and thatıs something weıve struggled with at times this season. I hope this effort is one that gives us confidence to build on," said Thompson. The Cards offensive unit couldnıt capitalize on the turnover, as three plays produced just 2 yards and a punt attempt. The punt snap sailed through the end zone for a Garrard County safety. The safety left Wayne Countyıs lead at 14-12 with 7:00 left in the third period. The Golden Lions claimed their first lead of the contest on their series after the free-kick. The hosts used six plays, to march 34 yards and score on a Bruce Williams 28 yard field goal attempt. The field goal gave the Lions a 15-14 lead with 4:53 left in the third stanza. Wayne County answered right back on their next drive and reclaimed the lead on Brent Gregoryıs second touchdown of the night, on a 2 yard scoring run. The march totaled 60 yards, on 6 plays, highlighted by a Ryan Steele 20 yard run and 21 yard pass completion to senior Bryant Gregory. Steele connected with Tyler King on the 2-point conversion play, to give Wayne County a 22-15 edge with 2:28 left in the third quarter. The teams traded two empty possessions each, as the Cards were forced to punt twice while the Lions had another pass intercepted and later turned the ball over on downs. Garrard County managed to reclaim the lead one final time at the 4:15 mark of the fourth period. The hosts used 8 plays to net 34 yards and scored on a Stephen DeBord 12 yard touchdown pass to Jared Prewitt. The score was set up by a very questionable pass-interference call on fourth down and 19 yards to go. The completion closed the gap to 22-21, as the Lions opted to go for 2 points and the lead. DeBord completed the conversion pass to Prewitt, but it appeared well short of the goal-line and after a few seconds the officials ruled it was good. The pass gave Garrard a 23-22 lead. "After watching it back on tape several times that just wasnıt a good call. We stopped their guy short of the goal-line, but give our kids credit we didnıt panic or lose focus. Instead we showed some heart and character that weıve been looking for since early in the season," said Thompson. Ryan Steele rushed for 18, 7, 4 and 14 yards on the go-ahead drive and finished the march with an impressive 14 yard touchdown run. The drive totaled 9 plays and 59 yards, as the Cards rallied back to take a 28-23 lead. "Our last drive we put it on our senior quarterbackıs shoulders and Ryan stepped up big. Ryan ran hard, but what an effort by all 11 guys getting off the ball and making some huge holes," said Thompson. Steele added the conversion run to push the score to 30-23 with just 1:07 left in the game. Wayne Countyıs defense put the game out of reach on Garrard Countyıs first play from scrimmage. Tyler King intercepted a Stephen DeBord pass and returned it 44 yards for a touchdown, which gave the Cards a 36-23 lead with under a minute to play. "Even after we scored to take the lead I still didnıt feel comfortable, but Tyler made a huge play and sealed the win. That capped off a big game for him on both sides of the ball," said Thompson. King finished with 11 tackles on defense and added 5 receptions for 56 yards on offense, as Wayne County claimed the 36-23 win. The defense was led by the 16 total tackles of linebacker Ryan Steele. Chris Burks and Charles Spradlin finished with 9 and 8 stops each, as the unit forced a season high 5 turnovers. "Both sides of the ball gave the effort weıve been looking for since the Knox Central game. Iım just so proud and happy for the way that we never quit and battled back from some tough situations," said Thompson. Up next for the Cards is a Friday night regular season finale with Casey County at Jewell Field. A Wayne County win would assure the program of its second ever home playoff game. "We invite everyone out for what could be a big night for our team and especially our seniors. Hopefully weıll have a big crowd to come out and support these kids. I know we all appreciate the support," said Thompson. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. Friday night at Jewell Field. Add a comment |
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