Sports
Williamstown Survives First Round Test
By: Steve Uhlmann
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The Williamstown Yellow Jackets passed their first test on their road to a state championship downing the Madonna Blue Dons 38-31 in their first round matchup Thursday night.
The game turned out to be a battle between the running backs as Madonna’s Elliott Nero and Williamstown’s Jerry King.
After the teams played the field position battle for most of the first scoring, Madonna would break open the floodgates when Garrett Hypes intercepted a Yellow Jacket pass and took it 70 yards for a touchdown.
The punch-counterpunch scoring would then go into full effect as the ensuing Williamstown drive was answered with a drive that featured the run exclusively. It was led and capped by King who finished it off with a 5-yard punch into the end zone.
Nero would make his presence felt for the first time during the next drive as Hypes hit him with a pass over the middle on a crucial 3rd-and-13 that he took 64 yards to the house to make it 12-7 with 10 minutes remaining in the first half.
King would show off his receiving abilities on the very next drive, taking a screen pass 54 yards to the end zone to make it 14-12.
Nero then took over again on the very next drive as he led the running-fueled attack down the field and after a 24-yard touchdown gave the Blue Dons the lead yet again, as they held a 18-14 lead with 3:07 left in the first half.
The Jackets had one more drive in them, as they marched the ball down the field for another touchdown, giving them the lead going into the locker room at halftime.
In the second half, the rushing attack of the second seeded Jackets was too much for Madonna to handle as they blew the game open. Madonna wouldn’t go down without a fight, but their season ended as time ran out.