WAYNEBORO – The War Eagles started slow here Thursday night but in the end rolled to a 34-7 win over Region rival Gautier on Homecoming Night.
“I know I sound like a broken record, but we have to clean up our act,” said Wayne County head coach Shelton Gandy after the War Eagles moved to 5-0 in Region 4-5A play. “We played like we were bored to start with, and we definitely have to play better moving forward, “ added Gandy.
Wayne County did not score until midway through the second period when Nathan Busby drilled a 22-yard field goal after the War Eagles moved 60 yards in a dozen plays. That came after three previous failures as Wayne County fumbled the ball at the Gators’ 14-yard line, failed on a fourth down play deep in Gautier territory and was intercepted at the visitors’ 11-yard line.
The War Eagles led 10-0 at intermission as Jerronte Walker climaxed a 52-yard 11- play drive with a 4-yard run with only 38 seconds to play in the half.
The Gators’ speedster Drake Thornton opened the second half in spectacular fashion with a 95-yard kickoff return for a score to pull them within 10-7 only 11 seconds into the third period. “They may have woke us up,” said Gandy about the long kickoff return. WCHS responded with 17 points in the next ten minutes to lead 24-7 after the three quarters. Quarterback Zhakerrien Wesley scored on two TD runs of 19 and 6 yards and Busby added a 31-yard field goal during that span. Wesley finished his trifecta touchdown night with a 5-yard run in the final period. The senior quarterback also ran for 103 yards and passed for 116 yards.
Momentum Change:
Bakari McCall intercepted a Gautier pass a the WCHS 36 yard line in the third period with Wayne County up 17-7, and the War Eagles promptly moved 64-yards to score on a Wesley run.
Player(s) of the Game:
Wayne County’s defense allowed the Gators only 28 yards rushing on the night and 133 yards of total offense on 48 plays. The defense also recovered a fumble and had the interception. They also held Gautier to a 2-for-9 performance on third down, and those two were via War Eagle penalties.
What’s Next:
Wayne County (7-2, 5-0) will trek 155 miles to Long Beach next Friday night before returning home on November 8 to host unbeaten Picayune.
