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Cards soar over Falcons, 42-14 Shannon Hutchinson Sports Writer The Wayne County Cardinals hosted Monroe County last Friday night at Jewell Field. The Cards entered with a 1-1 mark and were coming off a 32-13 win at Mercer County, while the Falcons entered with an 0-2 record and coming off a 52-6 loss to Trousdale, Tenn. The contest marked the sixth meeting between the two Class 2A schools with Monroe County winning the last three in the series, including a 42-21 decision last September at Monroe’s Darrell Carter Stadium. Wayne County senior running back Matt Goff rushed for a season high 254 yards and four touchdowns, as the Cards battled through several in-game delays to claim a 42-14 win. The Cards amassed a season high 478 total yards of offense with 20 first downs aided by junior quarterback Ryan Steele’s career best 141 passing yards on six completions. “I thought we stayed focused all week in practice and that carried over into the game. We gave a good effort and I was proud of the way our guys didn’t allow the delays with the lights going out to effect their effort. Everybody that was dressed saw action and that’s a huge plus. To get guys valuable varsity experience in a winning environment and those younger guys stepped in and played very well,” said Cards head coach Shawn Thompson. Monroe County, under the direction of first year head coach John Pettet, dropped to 0-3. The Falcons finished with 274 total yards, led by the play of senior quarterback Rusty Hawkins. Hawkins, a 6-5, 190 lb. stalwart, completed 10 of 25 passes for 154 yards with one touchdown and one interception. “Monroe County has probably the best quarterback we’ve faced this year. Hawkins is well coached and a very good athlete,” said Thompson. “Wayne County is so disciplined and so strong, they just line up and bring it at you. Offensively, they can hit you at all angles with a solid running game and an effective passing game. We are a young team that’s battling some injuries and a tough schedule, so we hope to learn and build each time out. Give Coach Thompson a lot of credit, I think he’s one of the best young coaches in the area and they have a team capable of making some noise,” said Falcons head coach John Pettet. The Cards scored first on a quick, three-play drive that traveled 48 yards, capped off by Josh Bell’s 1 yard scoring run. The touchdown was set up after a Monroe County punt and a Matt Goff 34 yard run on first down. Joe Coffey booted his first of seven extra points as Wayne County owned a 7-0 lead with 9:13 left in the opening quarter. Monroe County answered with an impressive 14-play drive and marched 77 yards, despite four penalties on the march. The visitors mixed the run with the pass and scored on junior halfback Miles Tooley’s 1 yard touchdown run. Tyler Netherton added the extra point to knot the score at 7-7 with 4:25 left in the period. The Cards followed with an 11-play drive that netted 55 yards, but Joe Coffey’s 35 yard field goal attempt was short, leaving the score at 7-7 at the end of one quarter. Junior defensive back Tyler King intercepted a Monroe County pass on the next series, to set up the Cards’ next score. Quarterback Ryan Steele connected with Tyler King, this time on the offensive side of the ball, for 41 yards on third down and long. Matt Goff capped off six runs on the drive with a 3 yard touchdown run, as Wayne County pushed to a 14-7 lead with just under 10 minutes left in the first half. The Falcons threatened to tie the score, but four plays inside the Wayne County 30 yard line produced just 1 yard and the visitors were forced to turn the ball over on downs. “Going into the game we felt like Monroe County would spread us out on defense. Overall with the exception of a couple of big plays I thought we responded pretty well. We did some good things on the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball,” said Thompson. Wayne County pushed the lead to 21-7 with a very efficient 7-play drive that tallied 76 yards. Tyler King caught a pass for 13 yards, rushed for 10 yards on another play and added his first touchdown of the season on a 6 yard run. The Cards pushed to their largest lead with 5:53 left in the half. Monroe County responded with a 62 yard drive that used just three plays and 53 seconds. Rusty Hawkins completed a 12 yard pass to Dustin Kirk and then zipped a 50 yard scoring strike to junior wide receiver Ryan Hammer. The Tyler Netherton extra point closed the gap to 21-14, with five minutes left in the second stanza. Matt Goff netted runs of 9, 11, and 7 yards before scoring on a 34 yard touchdown run. The Goff score capped of a 6-play 69 yard drive. Wayne County owned a 28-14 halftime advantage. “I told our guys at halftime we’ve up 28-14, but I don’t feel comfortable at all. We needed to stay focused and not feel content about anything, to our guys credit they responded the right way. We opened the second half with the football and wanted to make a statement. We knew Monroe County was very capable of making some big plays and it would take a big effort to seal the deal,” said Thompson. The Cards used Matt Goff’s 32 yard kickoff return to start the second half on their own 42 yard line. Ryan Steele connected with Tyler King for 57 yards and Goff scored on a 1 yard run as Wayne County pushed to a 35-14 lead, just 25 seconds into the third quarter. Both teams committed several miscues in the third quarter. Monroe County committed two turnovers, both on fumbles, while Wayne County fumbled inside the Monroe County 5-yard line and later missed a field goal. Wayne County turned the last Monroe County fumble into the game’s final points. Matt Goff rushed three times for 34 yards and scored on a 5 yard touchdown run, as Joe Coffey added the extra point to leave the score at 42-14 with 11 seconds left in the third quarter. Both teams substituted throughout the final quarter, as Wayne County snapped a three game losing streak in the rivalry with a 42-14 win. “It’s such a plus to get everybody some playing time in the win. I was so proud of the way our younger guys came in and made positive things happen. We only had one penalty with those guys the whole fourth quarter and that was when we were trying to get another guy in, so that’s good. Those guys are the future and we want to play them anytime we can, plus our junior varsity schedule is really giving those guys some much needed experience and confidence,” said Thompson. Over 25 different players recorded a tackle or an assist in the win, led by the tandem of Matt Goff and Joe Coffey. Goff and Coffey recorded 9 total tackles each, while junior safety J.T. Dodd added 8 stops as the defense continues to show improvement each week. “I like the way we are swarming the football. I think our conditioning during season and the fact that we’re still lifting weights during the week has helped our guys on both sides of the ball,” said Thompson. The win improved the Cards to 2-1 on the season and evened the series with Monroe County at 3-3. The contract has expired between the two schools, but both coaches have already agreed to renew the rivalry next season. “We’ve already agreed to continue playing next season and I like the match up. I love the atmosphere when we come up here and consider Coach Thompson a good friend. This is a good game for both teams and we’ve never had any problems,” said Pettet. “Monroe County is very well coached and their kids are always well mannered, so this is a game we certainly want to keep. We want to play good competition and good people and we get both of those things with Monroe County,” said Thompson. Up next for the Cards is a difficult road trip to South Laurel on Friday night. South is 2-1 on the season and coming off an impressive 41-28 win over Corbin. Corbin entered the game as the number four ranked team in Class 2A, but South Laurel upended the Hounds for the second straight season. “South Laurel has a very good football team and we’ve got our work cut out for us. They spread the field and use a lot of no-huddle, so we’ll have to have an excellent week of focused practice,” said Thompson. See a related story for a complete preview of the Wayne County at South Laurel match up. Add a comment |
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