WAYNESBORO – The Wayne County War Eagles won their District 4-5A opener behind a stout running game in downing Hattiesburg, 38-22, here Friday night.
“It’s a win we can build on probably not our best game but this will hopefully give us momentum because we want to be playing our best football at the end of the year,” said second-year WCHS head coach Shelton Gandy.
The War Eagles rushed for 380 yards led by quarterback Zhakerrin Wesley who rushed for 218 yards on 20 carries and scored once in the win.
The game started off sloppy as the teams exchanged punts before Wayne County took over on their own 42-yard line on their second offensive series of the night. The War Eagles moved to the Hattiesburg 26-yard line before the drive stalled and kicker Nathan Busby was called upon. Busby drilled a 43-yard field goal at the 4:19 mark of the opening quarter.
Wayne upped their lead to 10-0 on the first offensive series of the second quarter when they moved 62 yards in three plays to score when Wesley busted loose on a 43-yard run. Busby’s kick upped the WC lead to 10-0 with 10:54 to play in the opening half.
The Tigers responded quickly with a 61-yard run to score as junior Courland Harris did the honors. Walton Thompson ran the 2-point conversion to pull the Tigers within 10-8 with 9:15 to play in the half.
Wayne County then took ten plays and ate up five minutes of the scoreboard clock to score on a 2-yard blast by Jerronta Walker to up the WCHS lead to 17-8 with 4: 39 to play in the second period.
The War Eagles took the second half kickoff and moved 68 yards in seven plays to score on Shadamien Williamson’s 4-yard run less than two minutes into the third period.
The War Eagles would score two times early in the fourth period as Williamson ran 2 yards and defensive back Chayce Daniels intercepted a Tiger pass running 33 yards to up their lead to 38-8.
HHS tallied two touchdowns in the final four minutes as quarterback Jordan Willis ran 8-yards and then passed 6-yards to Zhirari Williams for the final points of the game.
Momentum Change:
WC linebacker Chris Walley recovered a Hattiesburg fumble midway in the third period as the Tigers were in War Eagle territory and moving for a possible score.
Player of the Game:
Wayne County’s Shadamien Williamson rushed 15 times for 77 yards and caught two passes for 32 yards and scored twice. Jerronta Walker added 73 yards on eight carries and tallied once. Nathan Busby’s 43-yard field goal was his career best.
Quote of the Night:
“We beat the two-time defending district champion, but we still have a long and winding road ahead of us.” - WCHS head coach Shelton Gandy.
Notes:
Wayne County (3-2, 1-0) will host Pearl River Central 2-3, 1-0) who was a 20-13 winner over Pascagoula while Hattiesburg (1-4, 0-1) will host Pascagoula (0-1, 2-3).
