Yellowjackets too much for Warriors in 55-10 win
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PARKERSBURG -- Williamstown's "home opener" turned out just fine for the Yellowjackets here Saturday afternoon at Stadium Field as head coach Chris Beck's program rolled past Warren, 55-10,
The 2-0 Yellowjackets, who return to action Friday at Flinn Field versus Ravenswood, turned a 7-3 lead late in the first quarter into a 42-3 halftime advantage.
WHS signal-caller Maxwell Molessa ran for a pair of first-half scores and also tossed a pair of touchdown passes -- a 30-yarder to Harbor Haught and a 20-yarder to Kent Wigal.
Molessa, who went 9 of 13 for 153 yards, led the ground attack with 155 stripes on 14 totes. Rickie Allen found paydirt twice and finished with 15 carries for 132 yards. WHS rushed 49 times for 418 yards and despite a running clock in the fourth managed to amass a 571-271 advantage in total yards.
After holding the 1-2 Warriors of first-year head coach Jimmy Peyton to a three-and-out on their opening possession, coach Beck's team faced a fourth-and-1 at their own 39 and opted to go for it.
Fullback Harbor Haught not only got the yard, but he broke through the line and bolted 61 yards to the end zone. Following his own extra point, WHS had the lead for good with 8:22 left in the opening stanza.
"I felt some hands on my legs, but we just had some great blocking up front and I managed to get outside and took off," said Haught, who rushed three times for 76 yards and also caught two passes for 83 yards.
"We just came out here and did what we needed to do. We're ready to go home. I'm still on the D-line, but I'm enjoying having some fullback action."
Warren, which plays Friday at Logan, picked up three first downs on the ensuing series. Facing a fourth-and-11 at the 'Jacket 27, quarterback Trent Taylor connected with AJ Criss for a 17-yard completion. However, the drive stalled and the Warriors had to settle for a 27-yard field goal from Sam Perdue at the 3:39 mark.
Molessa had a 44-yard burst and then ran untouched into the end zone from the 2 for a 14-3 lead a little more than 2 minutes later.
The Warriors once again reached the red zone on the next drive, but an offensive pass interference call proved costly and Taylor was sacked on third down by Danner Hooper and Brayden Buckley and were forced to punt.
Haught's 30-yard scoring grab came on a wheel route and although his extra point hit the upright, it bounced through for a 21-3 advantage at 10:32 of the second.
The lead soon expanded to 25 just 3:31 later as Colt Hesson picked off Taylor, who went 18 of 40 for 172 yards, and returned it 39 yards. That set up a 13-yard scoring run by Molessa.
Allen then intercepted Taylor on Warren's second play from scrimmage on its next series. On first down, the tight end Wigal was all alone and Molessa lofted an aerial for a 20-yard touchdown strike to make it 35-3 with 6:04 left in the half.
Warren once again had to punt on its next drive, which started with a 5-yard tackle for loss by Aiden Corbett on running back Jason Williams.
Allen's 18-yard romp pushed the lead to 42-3. Haught tried a 41-yard field goal prior to intermission, but it was blocked by Jacob Sealey.
The offensive fireworks continued for Williamstown as it opened the second half with the ball. Haught had a 53-yard catch-and-run where he bulldozed a pair of defenders before being pushed out of bounds at the 3. Allen took it in from there, but the extra point went off the upright as the lead extended to 45 points.
Another three-and-out from the Warriors led to a long drive by the 'Jackets, who converted a third-and-9 thanks to a 10-yard grab by Louis Goodnow. However, a 23-yard field goal attempt by Haught never had a chance as Aden Strahler broke through the line and blocked it.
The Williamstown second team allowed a Williams 75-yard TD jaunt at 2:37 of the third. Perdue's extra point made it 48-10, but Goodnow had a 21-yard catch on the next drive which was capped by a Haught 4-yard TD that once again made it a 45-point cushion.
Warren tried to score late with a running clock. A 31-yard and a 30-yard pass from Taylor to Tanner Pepper helped the Warriors to a first-and-goal at the 4, but the 'Jacket defense held with three incompletions and a tackle for loss on Williams. Facing a fourth-and-8 at their own 7, Williamstown opted to fake the punt and Colt Hesson bolted 15 yards for a first down to help seal the game.
"Really proud of the JV at the end. The JV got reps and got us a goal line stand and may be the most proud thing all night," admitted coach Beck, whose stop corps held Williams to 11 yards on his other 10 rushes. "I thought we were physically dominant, mentally tough all week with having to change venues.
"I can't be more proud. I thought the guys did a great job being physical and controlling the line of scrimmage. They got some things early offensively when they went empty and we made a couple adjustments and the kids played really well."
Contact Jay Bennett at jbennett@newsandsentinel.com