Pirates’ defense too much for Trojans, Wheelersburg shuts out Portsmouth.
By: Noah Cavin
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WHEELERSBURG, Ohio (WOUB) – Ed Miller Stadium was rocking Friday night, as the Wheelersburg Pirates sent the upset-minded Portsmouth Trojans home empty-handed, winning by a score of 34-0.
Portsmouth’s J.T. Williams ran the opening kickoff 30 yards to the Trojans’ own 40-yard line, but on the first play from scrimmage, Portsmouth fumbled the ball away, giving Wheelersburg incredible field position.
The Pirates fed Creed Warren the ball repeatedly on the next drive, and he took Wheelersburg all the way down to the Trojans’ two-yard line, where Jake Darling punched in a rushing touchdown to give Wheelersburg a 7-0 lead with 7:50 remaining in the first quarter.
On the ensuing possession, the Pirates’ Brayden Maxie ripped the ball out of a Portsmouth ballcarrier to give Wheelersburg the ball back on the Trojans’ 45-yard line. The Pirates continued to rush the ball down the field with ease, and Landon Hutchinson capped off the drive with an eight-yard rushing touchdown to extend Wheelersburg’s lead to 14-0 with 4:33 left in the opening stanza.
The Pirates’ defense stood tall yet again, forcing a three-and-out.
On the first play of their next offensive possession, quarterback Braylon Rucker aired it out deep to Devon Lattimore for a 71-yard touchdown, giving Wheelersburg a 21-0 lead just before the end of the first quarter.
Portsmouth was able to get within Wheelersburg’s 30-yard line, but a questionable action from a Trojan receiver resulted in a personal foul and set Portsmouth back 15 yards, killing the drive.
The Pirates went into clock control mode before the half, chewing six-and-a-half minutes off the clock before Cooper Heimbach drilled a 29-yard field goal to make the score 24-0 in favor of Wheelersburg.
The Pirates stood tall yet again defensively, but the Trojans responded with a defensive stand of their own. After forcing a three-and-out, Portsmouth sent the house on a punt block and successfully batted down the punt, giving them the ball on Wheelersburg’s 25-yard line with just six seconds remaining in the first half. The Trojans lined up for a 42-yard field goal, but the ball bounced off the crossbar, and the Pirates held their 24-0 lead heading into the half.
Just two minutes and 13 seconds into the second half, Creed Warren broke loose for a 16-yard rushing touchdown, which pushed the lead to 31-0 for Wheelersburg.
Heimbach was able to notch another field goal just before the end of the third period, putting the Pirates up 34-0.
Wheelersburg’s defense was able to continue their dominance, and denied the Trojans from scoring in the game as the Pirates went on to win 34-0.