Big plays lead to big score as Wooster cruises by Garfield in opener

  • brian questel
  • August 31, 2011
  • 285
                        
090511 WHSfootballGarfield Promo: Anderson’s 4 TDs help Generals roll in season opener with 47-20 rout of Garfield Big plays lead to big score as Wooster cruises by Garfield in opener By Brian Questel It was a dream game for the Wooster Generals. For the Garfield Rams? Well, not so much. Wooster High football coach Mike McCreary couldn’t have scripted a better season and home opener as the Generals routed the Rams 47-20. The Generals fired on all cylinders in the first half, jumping to a 19-6 advantage after the first quarter and 40-6 at halftime. That allowed the starters some time off and the backups more time than they could have imagined, allowing McCreary the best of both worlds in his squad’s 2011 debut. “The kids handled it well,” praised McCreary, whose team is coming off a 7-3 record a year ago. “We had quite a few people who were nervous. We had a lot of kids who hadn’t played on Friday nights. They settled in and played hard, Devin (Daugherty) threw well, DeVonta (Anderson) ran well and we hit some big plays.” That the Generals did. They had four scores of over 40 yards, with Daugherty running for a 54-yard tally and teaming with junior Darrian Owens for a pair of scoring strikes of 41 and 55 yards, with that final score coming in the third quarter to account for Wooster’s seven points. Anderson opened the scoring on a 12-yard run less than four minutes into the game, the first of his four touchdowns. By halftime, the numbers were big. Anderson had 116 yards on only seven carries and he followed up his opening score with runs of 23, 49 and 7 yards. Daugherty’s four completions netted the Generals 153 yard, which also included a 47-yard strike to James Preston. With its big lead by halftime, the Generals could then afford to spread out the playing time over the final 24 minutes, which was a plus for McCreary. “Obviously everyone gets a chance to play,” said McCreary. “That’s always nice on Friday nights. Everything was clicking and it’s nice to get the youngsters and backups in. The backups got a chance to get some experience and show what they can do. As you know, all it takes is one play and they can be in a long time.” It was especially nice for Anderson, who missed the season finale against Orrville because of a concussion and injuries. “Anybody who has a major injury and the opportunity to come back, they’re excited,” said McCreary. “But somewhere in the back of their mind, they are wondering, ‘What if?’ DeVonta ran really, really well. He’s in better shape. He’s 20 pounds heavier and still has his speed – he may be faster. … He was ready to rumble and rumble he did. “Our O-line blocked well. What’s good to see is they are coming around to where they need to be. If you don’t know what you’re doing, you can’t function, … and as far as mental errors, we didn’t make too many. That’s what football is all about, facing the player opposite you and winning every battle. (Garfield) put a little pressure on us, but Devin had time to throw and DeVo ran all over the place and he carried only seven times and didn’t finish the half. “Devin threw for 150 yards and had a long run of 54 yards, so he picked up where he left off from last year,” added McCreary. “He has that big-play capability. I know there are going to be times where we have to put drives together … but he can throw the ball up and we have the guys to go deep and make plays of 40-50 yards. That makes it easier when you don’t have to piece 10-12 plays together. It’s nice to say go deep and they can get it.” With the game in hand and subbing early, that impacted the defensive numbers, which McCreary was willing to overlook as the Generals gave up 265 yards on the ground and 144 through the air. By the same token, Wooster also came away with three interceptions and covered three of the Rams’ four fumbles to help keep Garfield on its heels. “They did a good job,” said McCreary, looking at the numbers. “That’s not to downgrade Garfield. When we started to substitute we were going to give up yards. We made some mental errors and made some poor decisions, but those are easily correctable. It’s nice to see those on film and say, ‘This is what we’re talking about – you have to take this step – and then have the guys say, yeah, we see that.’ “It was a great experience for our kids. We only have four starters (returning) so a few guys were really nervous. This was a good one to get under our belt. There wasn’t high pressure and once we were ahead, the kids relaxed a little, which was a good thing.” Wooster traveled to Wadsworth September 2 to face the Grizzlies, which dealt a re-tooled Ashland team a 45-16 setback in its first game.


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