Sports
Wahama Explodes In Fourth Quarter, Downs Clay-Battelle
By: Jess Bosh
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On a chilly Saturday in Point Pleasant, the eighth-seeded Wahama White Falcons took on the No. 9 Clay-Battelle Cee Bees. Wahama tried to continue where it left off in last year’s playoffs. The White Falcons exploded for 35 points in the fourth quarter to win, 49-27.
Right from the start the Cee Bees came off on fire, scoring first with Jacoby Steele taking a direct snap from the 1-yard line to put them up 7-0 in the first quarter. Wahama fought back in the second quarter when Hunter Bradley and Kane Roush connected for a 25-yard catch to tie the game, 7-7 with 9:04 left in the quarter.
The Cee Bees finished the second with quarterback Tristan Haught finding Jarret Hockenberry for a 21-yard touchdown. A missed extra point had Clay-Battelle ahead at halftime, 13-7.
On the first play of the third quarter Roush ran for a 66-yard touchdown to give Wahama its first lead of the game, 14-13.
Six minutes later, Wahama wide receiver Wyatt Zuspan fumbled the ball and the Cee Bees’ Brandon Barr recovered. The Cee Bees had good field position and brought the ball down to the 2-yard line to end the third quarter.
On the first play of the fourth quarter, Hockenberry ran in for a 2-yard touchdown but missed the two-point conversion, putting the Cee Bees back on top 19-14.
After that touchdown it was all White Falcons.
On the second play of the ensuing possession, Colton Neal ran for 49 yards to set up the White Falcons on the Cee Bees 7-yard line. The next play saw Roush run in his second touchdown on the ground, putting the White Falcons up 22-19.
Wahama continued its fourth quarter scoring brigade moments later.
Roush scored for the fourth time on a 75 yards sprint to bring the score to 29-19 with 8:32 left in the game. The Gridiron Glory Player of the Year finalist finished the game with 10 carries for 195 yards with 3 touchdowns. He also caught one pass for 25 yards and a touchdown.
Roush carried the White Falcons on his back tonight especially in the second half. Even on the sideline he pumped up his team and got the crowd excited.
A minute later, Brandon Stewart rushed for a 30-yard touchdown, extending Wahama’s lead to 35-19. A Bradley-to-Wyatt-Zuspan pass gave the White Falcons a 42-19 advantage with five minutes left in the game.
The Cee Bees’ Trenton Dille found running room for a 17-yard touchdown, bringing the score to 42-27, but Zuspan took a snap at quarterback and kept the ball for a 43-yard touchdown run to bring the score to the final 49-27.
Wahama only had 53 yards in the first half, but in its productive second half the offense gained 348 yards. Roush said the White Falcons focused on getting stops in the second half, which led to big plays on offense.
Wahama (10-1) will play at No. 1 Madonna (11-0) in the second round of the playoffs Saturday, Nov. 23.