Williamstown’s Jackson Kerr (8) carries the ball as Roane County’s Cooper Greathouse (24) goes in for the tackle during Friday’s game. (Photo by Nikki Allen)

SPENCER – Williamstown football may have turned the corner.

Behind a pair of 100-yard rushers, several goal-line stands and a two-touchdown bonanza in the span of 17 seconds, the Yellowjackets finally found the win column after defeating another Class AA heavyweight Roane County, 45-21, Friday at County Stadium.

Williamstown improved to 1-2, while Roane County suffered a rare regular defeat and slipped to 2-1.

“A team like we have, they needed confidence,” Williamstown coach Chris Beck said. “They needed something good to happen and tonight it happened. So that’s something that if we carry this momentum, it can definitely lead to bigger and better things for us.

“Most folks think Roane County is a Top 5 double-A team, a good physical team. So I’m really proud of the effort our guys did. A lot of people may give up on us, but we’re not dead yet.”

Williamstown’s Carson Haines (6) catches a pass as Roane County’s Jacob Greathouse (3) defends during Friday’s game. (Photo by Nikki Allen)

The Raiders, who had won 39 of their previous 42 regular-season games, never led after Williamstown pulled in front 13-0 after the first quarter. The Raiders lost a member of their football family for the season when running back Brodey Proctor suffered a severe leg injury midway into the third quarter which stopped the game for 20 minutes before he left the field in an ambulance.

A somber mood dominated the postgame locker room.

“Losing Brodey is a major hit to what we do,” Roane County coach Paul Burdette said. “You know, he is a great kid and works so hard to get where he is.

“Brodey stood behind some pretty good running backs for two years and finally gets his shot. He’s had a heck of a year, then the injury happens. He is not going to come back this year. He will have a long road to recover.”

Prior to the injury, Proctor rushed for what would turn out to be a team-high 82 yards on seven carries in addition to the Raiders’ first touchdown which cut the deficit to 13-7 with five minutes remaining in the first half.

Williamstown’s Breck Allen (7) is pushed out of bounds by Roane County’s Cooper Greathouse (24) during Friday's game. (Photo by Nikki Allen)

Every phase of Williamstown’s game appeared to be sync – most especially senior running back Jackson Kerr, who scored three TDs on runs of 45, 77 and 38 yards and ended the night with 273 yards on 23 carries.

Kerr’s first TD came on the heels of quarterback Breck Allen’s 54-yard run on a two-play drive which followed the Yellowjackets’ first goal-line stand just outside of their own end zone for the first score of the game.

“We had great practices all week, and overall we just had a great game,” Kerr said. “I wouldn’t have been able to do it without my line.

“This win is going to definitely bring a lot of confidence back for us since we started off the season a little rough. This game was a big deal for us, and we came ready to win.”

Allen, who rushed for 102 yards on 12 carries, produced with his feet as well as his arm. He rushed for one TD and threw for two more.

On the second Williamstown drive, the Yellowjackets entered the red zone on Alllen’s 13-yard run. On the next play, he connected with Mason Kern for a first down to 1-yard line.

Running back Jack Moore capped the nine-play, 54-yard scoring drive with a 1-yard TD run. With 39.1 seconds remaining in the opening quarter, Williamstown led 13-0.

In the first half, Williamstown scored on four of its five possessions – with Kerr sprinting down the sidelines for a 77-yard TD run and Allen finding Jenner Burge for a 2-yard scoring strike on the Yellowjackets’final series of the half at 5.3 seconds.

Roane County had success moving downfield, but two of its first three drives ended with Williamstown’s defense denying the Raiders on fourth down – first at the 1-yard line and again on fourth-and-2 at the Yellowjacket 9.

The Raiders broke through on their final two possessions prior to intermission – Proctor scoring from a yard out and a rare TD pass completion of 35 yards from quarterback Jacob Greathouse to Cooper Greathouse.

Proctor’s TD was aided by Garrett Brabham blocking a Williamstown punt attempt from the Yellowjacket end zone and Gabe Dever recovering the loose ball just shy of the goal line.

A Williamstown punt on the opening drive of the second half left Roane County 80 yards from paydirt. On the fourth play of the drive, the Yellowjackets stripped a Raiders ballcarrier. John Amrine, one of three new starters on defense, smothered the loose ball.

Following the turnover, Williamstown covered 39 yards in six plays with Allen scoring from 15 yards out.

Roane County answered right back with one of its patented methodical drives. The Raiders used 4 1/2 minutes to complete a 63-yard scoring drive. Cooper Greathouse caught a 5-yard pass from Jacob Greathouse to cut the Yellowjacket lead to 32-21 and 11:53 showing on the fourth quarter clock.

Coach Beck rolled the dice on the next series. Facing fourth-and-10 from the Roane 44, the Yellowjackets elected to try for the first down. Not only did they get a first down, they scored six points off a 44-yard pass completion from Allen to Haines.

“We are who we are – we’re pretty aggressive on fourth downs,” Beck said. “We already had a punt blocked. We dialed something up and got lucky there.”

As Williamstown prepared to kickoff, placekicker Carter Hoops (another new starter on defense), was instructed to squib kick. Roane muffed the attempt and Jacob MacIver was pulled from the bottom of the pile with football in hand.

“I told the kids, we’re not used to losing,” Burdette said. “I said losing don’t feel good and I don’t want them to get used to it. It always hurts when you lose, but tomorrow is a new day and we have to go on.”

On the very next play, Kerr straddled the sidelines for a 38-yard TD run and a Williamstown 45-21 lead with 8:31 on the clock.

“Jackson will be the first to tell you, but we’re hard on Jackson,” Beck said. “We yell at Jackson a good bit, and we yell at him because we know what he is capable of. Today, he did a great job. Jackson had his game of changing speeds. He gets out there and he is tough to catch.

“He was able to get loose a few times and make some difference.”

Contact Kerry Patrick at kpatrick@newsandsentinel.com