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Wayne County upends Christian Academy 28-10 in opening round of Class 2A Shannon Hutchinson Sports Writer The Wayne County Cardinals hosted Christian Academy of Louisville last Friday night at Jewell Field, in the opening round of the Class 2A state playoffs. The Cards entered on a two-game winning streak and owned a 6-4 overall record. CAL was coming off a loss at Elizabethtown and owned a 5-5 mark. The contest marked the first ever meeting between the two schools. Wayne County rushed for 306 yards and totaled 419 yards of offense, en route to a commanding 28-10 playoff win. Ryan Steele, a 6-0, 185 lbs. senior quarterback, led the way with 219 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns, plus completed 8 of 14 passes for 113 yards, as the Cards never trailed in their first ever home playoff win. "What an effort by both our offense and defense. I thought we were sharp and intense on both sides of the ball. Ryan had just another huge offensive night and he's our go to guy. I thought this was another game where all 11 guys were working together and I can't tell you how proud I am of this team," said Cards head coach Shawn Thompson. The Cards controlled the line of scrimmage and out-gained CAL 419 to 190. "To have over 400 yards of offense and hold them under 200 is huge. Games like this are easy to coach when you have a team that plays so hard. I thought our execution in such a pressure-situation was good, and once again our guys made the most of our opportunities," said Thompson. Christian Academy, which dropped to 5-6, was held to just 73 yards of offense in the first half. CAL finished with 13 first downs, as the offense was led by Bradley Stafford. Stafford, a 5-10, 180 lbs. senior runningback, rushed 22 times for 109 yards. The visitors were dominated up-front, as Wayne County totaled a season best six quarterback sacks in the win. "I thought our defensive pressure was a big key in this game. We were able to not only get to the quarterback, but put him on the ground. We had eight defensive plays that resulted in negative yardage, so that's huge," said Thompson. After the teams opened the game with an empty possession each, the Cards grabbed the first score of the night. Wayne County needed just 6 plays, to march 62 yards and score on a Ryan Steele 3 yard touchdown run. Steele set up the score with a 47 yard run, as the Cards missed the extra-point and owned a 6-0 lead with 4:44 left in the first frame. CAL answered right back with their only score of the first half. The visitors traveled 46 yards to the Wayne County 15 yard line, but had to settle for an Addison Hobbs 32 yard field goal. The kick closed the gap to 6-3, with 2:04 left in the first period. The Cards made the most of excellent field position to notch their second score of the contest. Wayne County used five plays to net 32 yards and scored on a Brent Gregory 2 yard touchdown run. The conversion pass failed, leaving the Cards with a 12-3 lead at the 4:44 mark of the first half. Wayne County junior defensive back Jordan Bertram intercepted a CAL pass attempt, which set up the Cards' next score. The Cards moved 48 yards in eight plays and scored on a Joe Coffey 31 yard field goal. The kick pushed the lead to 15-3, with 1:44 left in the second quarter. Neither team would threaten the rest of the half, as Wayne County enjoyed a 15-3 halftime advantage. "I was happy with the way we came out of the locker room ready to play in the first half. I thought we certainly did what we needed to do and put ourselves in position to win the game," said Thompson. Christian Academy opened the second half with the football and responded with their best drive of the night. CAL stayed on the ground all 10 plays and marched 64 yards to score on a Logan Hatfield 10 yard run. The extra-point closed the score to 15-10, with 7:10 left in the third period. Wayne County quickly answered back and scored a touchdown of their own, only two plays later. Ryan Steele capped-off a 75 yard drive, with a 72 yard touchdown run, which pushed the Cards to a 21-10 lead. Christian Academy tried to battle back, but they turned the ball over on downs, at the Wayne County 15 yard line on their next drive. "Our defense stepped up big on that series and provided the stop, plus our offense came out and followed that up with a big drive," said Thompson. The Cards used 11 plays and marched 85 yards to put the game out of reach. The hosts stayed on the ground 10 of 11 plays and scored on Ryan Steele's third touchdown of the night, a 4 yard run. Joe Coffey added the extra-point to push the score to 28-10 with 7:52 left in the ball game. CAL would never threaten again, as Wayne County ran out the clock and ended the game on CAL's 1 yard line, en route to the school's second ever playoff win. "This team set some goals to start the season and I know this was a big one. To get a home playoff game and win it is huge. The thing that's great is I truly don't believe this team is done. We have more work left to do and I know we're excited to get to keep playing football," said Thompson. A review of the defensive stats shows several Cards had big nights on the tackle sheet. Senior Charles Spradlin clogged the middle all game and registered a season best 11 tackles. Joe Coffey added 10 stops while Ryan Steele and Cody Neal finished with 9 total tackles each. All four of those guys were playing their final game at Jewell Field. "I thought all our seniors really set the tone this week in practice and it carried over. This was a big win for our program and hopefully something we can build on," said Thompson. The win improved the Cards to 2-9 all-time in the playoffs and advanced the squad into a second round match-up at Louisville Western. Western owns a 9-2 record and blasted Casey County 63-35 in the opening round game. "Western has a very good football team and the strength of their team is their overall speed. We have our hands full, but I believe this is certainly a winable game and we're excited about the challenge," said Thompson. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. Friday night at Louisville Western. "We had a great crowd for our home game with Christian Academy and I hope everybody that can will make the trip to Louisville. We need the support and truly appreciate all the support we've received," said Thompson. Add a comment |
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