It was the playoffs a week early for East Webster last week when the Wolverines went to Bruce to play the Trojans. With an 0-3 start in Class 2A, Region 2 play, the Wolverines had to beat the Trojans to clinch a playoff berth. Coach Ron Price made sure that his team understood that. Fighting through injuries, the Wolverines were able to take care of business in a 35-6 win. “We preached to our kids all week the significance of the game. They stepped up to the challenge,” Price said. “This group of kids had never had their backs against the wall in a must-win situation, and we had to win that one. I’m proud of them for finding a way.” It was a slow start for the Wolverines as the team failed to score until the 8-minute mark of the second quarter. That was when Kaleb Warnock was able to finish off a drive with a 2- yard run, and that got the team rolling. Warnock got back on the board later in the quarter when he was able to find Daygan Crowley for a 25-yard pass, and it was 14-0 at the break. In the first possession of the second half, EWHS got back on the board again as Warnock hit another big passing play and found Aldavion Hoskin for a 50-yard score. After Bruce was able to get its one touchdown of the game on a pass with 7:01 left in the quarter, Crowley would score again with a 25- yard touchdown run making it 26-6. Dee Bingham got in on the scoring on a 19-yard touchdown, and the final score would be an intentional grounding in the end zone for a safety to make it 35-6. In the win, Warnock was 4-of-7 for 95 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions, and he had eight carries for 55 yards and a score. He led the offense to 318 yards total. Hoskin had two catches for 58 yards and a touchdown, and Crowley had two catches for 37 yards and a score while also carrying it four times for 45 yards and a touchdown. Crowley also had three special teams returns for 46 yards. Crowley is one of the players that Price has been encouraging to step up his game with injuries taking a toll on the Wolverines’ roster. Briceton Johnson went down with a leg injury last week that has ended his season, and Crowley now is one of the top playmakers as a freshman. “We challenged them to have the next-man up mentality and for the most part, a lot of guys are taking advantage to get some reps. Hopefully that’s going to build some experience for those guys moving forward,” Price said. “Prentiss Cork has really stepped up for us and had a huge game on Friday night. Daygan Crowley has been a key cog for us all year offensively, too. He ran the ball well and had some big catches any time we’ve needed an offensive spark this season.” Thomas Gregg led the EWHS defense with 13 tackles and 6.0 tackles for loss in the win on Thursday night and had a monster night with 4.5 sacks. Mason McCurdy had 11 tackles. With the No.4 finish in Region 2, EWHS (5-5) will have to play one of the best teams in the state right away this week. The Wolverines will travel to Baldwyn to take on the 9-1 Bearcats, and it makes for a tough first round task. As Price said, however, everything they want to accomplish would likely include running through Baldwyn anyway. “To get to where you want to be in the state championship game, you’re going to have to run into Baldwyn somewhere so why not get that over with? We went to Baldwyn and played a double overtime game last year, and we played them this year,” Price said. “It’s not an uncomfortable situation for our kids, it’s just overcoming the obstacles that we have injury wise and putting in a plan that will have us in the game in the fourth quarter. We’ll see how the outcome shakes out after that.”
