Backed-up Generals end skid against Colts with 28-7 victory

  • brian questel
  • October 5, 2011
  • 299
                        
101011WHSFBclearfork Promo: Generals get a kick out of 28-7 win over OCC leader Clear Fork Backed-up Generals end skid against Colts with 28-7 victory By Brian Questel It’s an uncomfortable position to be in. Whatever Ohio Cardinal Conference title hopes the Wooster High football team had were on the line when the Generals traveled to Bellville to face Clear Fork. With their backs against the wall, the 0-2 Generals turned the tables on the only unbeaten team in the OCC when the Generals left Bellville September 30 with a convincing 28-7 victory. Wooster’s win continued the wild ride in the OCC thus far as it stayed within striking distance of first place, a position shared by no fewer than five 2-1 teams – Clear Fork, Orrville, West Holmes, Madison and Ashland. “It was a nice win, very nice,” said Wooster coach Mike McCreary, whose team was coming off a 27-26 loss to a Madison team that is now 5-1. “The kids played great. “The last time we beat them was in 2005. … I guarantee you no one saw this coming. Not only did we beat them, but we beat them 28-7 … and the score could have been worse. We played well in all phases, and the offense and defense made big plays. “We went down there and played well. Clear Fork is a well-coached team and we were under the gun. If we would have gone 0-3, it would not have only taken away the OCC, but deflated us as well.” It was certainly a stand-up win for the Generals’ defense, which had given up 56 points to Ashland in its OCC opener and couldn’t get Madison’s running game stopped. The Colts had no running room as they were limited to 98 rushing yards on 34 carries, although they augmented that with 122 through the air as quarterback Ryan South was 12-of-22 and a touchdown. “The defense was good,” praised McCreary. “First, we had three great days of practice. The kids executed and won their individual battles. They did what they were taught and made plays. We needed people to make plays and we had a couple interceptions. We had people in position this game and when it was their time, they made plays. That was the difference. “I think it was probably the best team-oriented defense we’ve played as far as people handling their responsibilities. We were in a position almost all the time to do the right thing. … We were able to come off blocks and make plays. We were almost always in position to make the play. The difference before was we have been there and not made the plays. We were tackling and guys were carrying us after we hit them. Against Wadsworth, we hit (running back Jack Snowball) at the line of scrimmage and he carried us five yards.” There was none of that Friday as the Generals got an early lead and never let the Colts off the hook. After forcing a Clear Fork punt on its first series, the Generals set up shop 66 yards from pay dirt. Running back DeVonta Anderson took care of the final 53 yards as he took a screen pass from Devin Daugherty to the house to give the Generals a 7-0 lead with 9:39 to play in the first quarter. The Generals then pounded out an 85-yard drive before Daugherty capped it with a 19-yard TD pass to Brenner Lewis to push Wooster’s advantage to 14-0 after Daugherty added the second of his PAT kicks (11:48). The Colts closed it to 14-7 with their only score of the game with 4:10 to play in the half, but the Generals answered back immediately. Daugherty found his quick-strike teammate, Darrian Owens, as the pair teamed up for a 27-yard scoring play with 1:56 to play. That was nearly more than enough time for the Colts to score, and they actually did right before the half on a 26-yard scoring toss that was waved off on a holding penalty. Smith went right back to the air and connected again, but this time it was to the Generals’ Lewis, whose interception preserved Wooster’s 21-7 halftime advantage. The Colts only had one scoring threat in the second half as the Generals kept Clear Fork under wraps, limiting the Colts to less than 100 yards rushing. They also had six sacks on Smith for the game in addition to the two picks. “The defense played as a whole team,” praised McCreary. “They really jelled. We had the right amount of people who wanted to play defense in there and they played like a unit. They stuck together and amazing things can happen when you stay together as a unit.” With the defense doing its job, Anderson gave it a bit more breathing room early in the fourth quarter. He not only got back over 100 yards on the ground (113 total), but he applied the final points with a 2-yard scoring run with 9:55 to play. Wooster finished with 197 rushing yards and Daugherty added another 165 passing as he completed 7-of-13 passes on a rainy night with one interception. McCreary was pleased with his team’s offensive performance. “We haven’t scored on them (recently). They’ve defensed us well,” he said. “We had some consistent drives or had some big plays. On the first Devin threw a screen and DeVo went 60 yards for the touchdown. Then we drove down the field and Devin hit Brenner Lewis. It was a great pass, a great catch and Brenner turned it upfield for the touchdown. “We’ve been doing that all year. We’re not fazed (offensively). If we continue to do that, scoring four touchdowns in a game, we’ll be in the game.” Wooster travels to 2-4 Lexington October 7, which is a surprising 0-3 in the OCC. “Lexington lost to Clear Fork 17-15 and to Madison 15-8,” said McCreary. “They haven’t won a game in the OCC, but they could easily be 3-0 or 2-1. The league is so balanced. The kids get the idea we need help and teams need to beat teams we lost to, but we need to take care of business and come ready to play week-in, week-out. “Each week you need to come ready to play – what you did last week doesn’t make any difference. You had better be ready to play because anybody can beat anybody. That makes for a great league when there is a lot of parity. ‘These guys are going to win it again’ is nice for that team, but it’s nice to have to compete week-in and week-out for a victory.”


Loading next article...

End of content

No more pages to load