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Louisville Western stops Wayne County 21-7 Shannon Hutchinson Sports Writer The Wayne County Cardinals met Louisville Western, last Friday night at Western High School, in the 2nd round of Class 2A State playoffs. The Cards entered the match up with a 7-4 record, while the host Warriors owned an impressive 9-2 record. The contest marked the first ever meeting between the two schools and the second time ever each team had reached the 2nd round of the state playoffs. Western's Ron Darden, a 5-5 145 lbs. senior runningback, rushed for a game high 189 yards, on 25 attempts, plus scored three touchdowns, as Western claimed a 21-7 home win. Darden, subbing for the injured Collins, scored on runs of 44, 2 and 15 yards, as the Warriors improved to 10-2. "We knew Western had a lot of speed and a lot of depth and they didn't miss a beat without the Collins kid. Darden is a very good back with big-play ability, but I was so proud of our kids effort. We battled all night and played with great effort, but they just had too much speed," said Cards head coach Shawn Thompson. The Warriors totaled 292 rushing yards and 318 total yards of offense, with 11 first downs as the winners advanced into the region championship for the first time ever. "I was so proud of our effort on defense and take away 3 or 4 plays, we could be playing for a region title. I thought our intensity and focus was there, we just came up short. It certainly wasn't due to a lack of effort, I'm so proud of this team," said Thompson. Wayne County, which dropped to 7-5, totaled 170 yards of offense and 12 first downs, led by senior quarterback Ryan Steele. Steele rushed 23 times for 96 yards and completed 7 of 19 pass attempts for 64 yards. The Cards had several opportunities to score, but the lone touchdown came on a Brent Gregory 2 yard run. "We had some chances to score, but just couldn't keep anything going on offense. Defensively they clogged the box and we tried everything, but their athletic ability just made things tough. We battled and never quit, which is something I'm so proud of," said Thompson. Neither team could score in the first quarter, as Wayne County dominated the early action, but failed to put any points on the board. Wayne County's first drive totaled 7 plays and 41 yards, but the drive stalled at the Western 19 yardline. The Cards settled for a Joe Coffey 36 yard field goal attempt, which was wide right by a yard. The Cards also moved the ball, but just couldn't catch a break. The field goal we missed was so close, plus a penalty stopped us, so if we find a way to score, who knows what may have happened after that point," said Thompson. Western scored the game's first touchdown on their 3rd offensive series of the night. The Warriors marched 82 yards on just 5 plays and scored on a Ron Darden 44 yard touchdown run. The Oscar Grimaldo extra-point gave the hosts a 7-0 edge, with 11:52 left in the first half. "They had a couple of big plays on that drive and that's their bread and butter. We came right back and answered, which I thought gave us some momentum," said Thompson. The Cards responded with a 13-play drive that netted 65 yards and chewed-up almost 6-minutes of clock. Wayne County used a 21 yard pass connection of Ryan Steele to Tyler King to spark the march. Brent Gregory capped-off the series with a 2 yard run. Joe Coffey knotted the score at 7-7, with the extra-point at the 5:56 mark of the second quarter. Wayne County had a chance to take the lead, but a 10-play drive stalled on the Western 32 yard line. Western gained possession with under a minute to play in the opening half and made the most of the opportunity. The Warriors used 5-plays to travel 68 yards and scored on the last play of the half. Quarterback Charles Shephard scrambled 40 yards on a busted play, which set up a Ron Darden 2 yard touchdown plunge. The extra-point gave the Warriors a 14-7 half time advantage and loads of momentum heading into intermission. "Just a busted play and they made us pay. We did so many good things in the first half and a couple of plays took all the air out of out sails," said Thompson. Wayne County opened the second half with the football, but the Cards failed to gain a first down, on either of their first two offensive series. Western pushed the lead to 21-7 on their second march of the third quarter. The Warriors stayed on the ground 13 straight plays and traveled 87 yards, to score on a Ron Darden 15 yard run. The Oscar Grimaldo extra-point pushed the lead to 21-7 with 1:46 left in the third period. The Cards offense just couldn't sustain anything the rest of the game. The unit produced a 10-play and 8-play drive, but neither produced points. Wayne County's last drives of the game both ended in turnovers. The squad had a fumble on the Western 30 yard line and a halfback pass intercepted, which ended the Cards hope of a comeback. "Offensively we tried everything, even drawing up plays in the dirt, we just couldn't make the play to put us over the hump. We also had some penalties that were costly," said Thompson. Western regained the football on the Wayne County 12 yard line, after the interception and ran out the clock to claim a 21-7 win. The loss was a tough one on the coach and the entire team. I know this meant so much for our seniors, but the hurt in our locker room was team wide. Our young guys were just as upset as our upperclassmen, nobody on this team was ready or wanted to be done," said Thompson. Several seniors made the most of their final effort in a Wayne County jersey. Ryan Steele totaled 160 yards of offense, while classmates Tyler King and Joe Coffey paced the receiving corps. King nabbed 3 catches for a team best 37 yards and Coffey added 34 yards on 5 total touches. The offensive line was also aided by the efforts of seniors Josh Jones, Travis Bell and Charles Spradlin. "As a senior class, I get very emotional about this group, I would love to have them all back. This group helped set the standard for what we want to be about. To be district runner-up, get a home playoff win and to be a couple plays from playing for the region, these guys work habits set the table. Hopefully we'll build off this and continue to take the steps we need to compete for more championships," said Thompson. The win advantaged Western into a matchup with DeSales for the regional championship, while the Cards will take a little time off and go back to work for 2006. "We'll go back to work and that all starts with the winter weight program. I really think our program is starting to get to the level we want, but we can't get comfortable it's time to push on," said Thompson. 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