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Playoff battle in Waynesfield: Southeastern Local downs W-G in opening round state playoff game |
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Monday, 09 November 2009 |
By CHRIS VOLOSCHUK
Sports Editor
WAYNESFIELD—As South Charleston Southeastern Local varsity football coach Greg Bonifay exchanged handshakes and hugs with family members on the way to the visitors locker room Saturday night, two Trojans players crept up and covered him with silly string.
It was the all smiles demeanor fitting of a team that had just won its opening state football playoff game on the road, 34-16.
As for the Waynesfield-Goshen Tigers (9-2), who hosted a Division VI playoff game for the first time in school history, it was a much more somber ending to an otherwise brilliant season. For the team’s 13 seniors, all that remained were a few tears and a heart-felt thank-you from the coaching staff for a job well done.
Before Saturday’s loss, the Tigers had put together a 9-1 regular season, including a perfect 7-0 record in the Northwest Central Conference. A Week 10 win at Fairbanks secured a league title.
Despite the playoff result, Tigers varsity coach Gary Spencer was certain this was a special team, especially the senior class.
“Those seniors are, in my opinion, the best that Waynesfield’s ever had,” he said. “It’s tough. They’re going through a hard time right now and to look at them go through this is really tough. But each year you’ve got to say good-bye to one group and welcome another group in. The tears are going to flow, but you wish them the best and when they have a time to think about this they’re going to be proud of what they accomplished.”
The same could be said for Bonifay’s team, which will move on to play Fort Loramie next week.
When his current group of seniors were merely freshmen, they had an 0-10 record and were searching for answers. Saturday was the culmination of four years of rebuilding.
“My group of seniors were 0-10 in their freshman year,” Bonifay said. “Then they were 3-7 and 3-7. Just to see them get that winning attitude and learn how to win is unbelievable. They worked their butts off.”
When the game kicked off, the match-up featured a pass-first offense in Southeastern Local (9-2) against the run-heavy play calling of the Tigers. While both teams wanted to strictly play their style, the Trojans eventually won out, successfully turning W-G into a passing team when it didn’t necessarily want to be.
And while the Tigers were able to rush for 166 of their team total 301 yards, the passing game got into trouble, as junior quarterback Connor Mortimer (11-of-25, 135 yards) threw three interceptions—two in the second half—that aided the Trojans in their win.
“We’ve always been a bend but don’t break defense,” Bonifay said. “We proved that again tonight. The kids deserve [to win]. They really do.”
The game’s crucial stretch may have come late in the second quarter, as W-G had seemingly taken the momentum back after falling behind Southeastern 13-3. The Tigers put together a 13-play drive that ended in a 13-yard touchdown strike from Mortimer to wideout Christian Lament. Soenke Witt’s extra point kick made it 13-10.
After forcing a three-and-out from Southeastern, the Tigers got the ball back with 3:28 to go in the first half and marched downfield to the opposing 11, where Mortimer threw his first pick of the game to Caleb Errett, who ran 59 yards the other way to the W-G 41. Two plays later, Trojans QB Reed Florence launched a home run ball down the visitors sideline to receiver Preston Snodgrass that went for a 41-yard touchdown.
All of a sudden, it was 21-10 Trojans just before the half.
“It was like we were a possession behind them the whole game,” Spencer said. “When they pulled away it was because they made us be a team that we’re not, where we have to pass when we have to and not pass when we need to.”
W-G got the ball to start the third quarter and got itself right back into the game using its rushing attack. An 11-play, 60-yard drive culminated in Ryan Spencer’s two-yard TD plunge to make it 21-16.
Then Southeastern’s vaunted passing attack, led by Florence (13-of-23, 230 yards), kicked things up a notch. In the fourth quarter, he threw two touchdown passes to receiver Austin Mercer, the first one from 30 yards away and the second from 22 to seal the win.
After Mercer’s second score, W-G quarterbacks turned the ball over on two consecutive possessions via interceptions. With 10.5 seconds to go, Florence took a knee to end the game.
“[Florence] was everything that everybody wrote about all week,” Spencer said. “He’s a very talented athlete and he’s a leader of his team. He deserved a lot of credit for that victory.”
The Trojans finished the game with 303 total yards, including 73 on the ground to go with 230 passing yards. Florence threw an interception in the third quarter to Keaton Fetter.
The Tigers used six different ball carriers to get to 166 yards rushing. They were led by Spencer, who carried the ball 16 times for 52 yards.
To start out the game, Southeastern took the opening drive 72 yards in 10 plays and scored on a Florence pass to Bo Timmons. Trailing 7-0, W-G marched 62 yards in 13 plays—all runs—and came away with a Witt field goal from 30 yards out for a 7-3 deficit.
Before the second quarter momentum swings, Timmons ran in a second touchdown from the W-G 1-yardline for a 13-3 lead.
“A win in the playoffs is huge,” Bonifay said.
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Last Updated ( Friday, 13 November 2009 )
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