Following a tough loss in a winnable game against Calhoun City, there was no time to waste as the East Webster Wolverines had another difficult challenge against Choctaw County.
The Chargers were coming off a bye week after a grueling start to the season and that rested the team enough to recharge the batteries of the Class 2A, Region 2 champs of last season. Antonio Kennedy was a load to handle, and the Wolverines had no answer in what became a 40-14 drubbing to CCHS.
“It was the same issues that we have battled in our losses. It was poor tackling, and we dropped a number of passes that could have turned into big plays. We had a field goal and a punt blocked and gave up a touchdown on a kickoff return, too,” coach Ron Price said. “Give it to Choctaw County. Those guys came out and just dominated us on both sides of the ball. You can’t make those mistakes against a team like that and expect to win.”
Kennedy was the biggest issue for the Wolverines as the senior running back just ran all over the defense for 244 yards and three touchdowns. The CCHS defense was stout as well, allowing under 200 yards of offense to the Wolverines as Kaleb Warnock was held to just 9-of-25 passing for 64 yards. The offense ran ok with 25 carries for 125 yards, led by the 10 carries and 50 yards from Warnock, but it wasn’t enough to stay in the game.
It wasn’t until the final 2 minutes of the half that EWHS could even get on the board, and CCHS attacked early and often. It’s no surprise that Kennedy set the tone as the big, bruising back took off on the first play of the game for an 86-yard touchdown, and it was 6-0 after one quarter.
Business picked up for the Chargers in the second quarter when KJ Cork hit Jaheim Woodard for a 27-yard touchdown making it 14-0. Kennedy went back to work thanks to special teams as a blocked punt gave the team great field position, and the running back scored on a 22-yard run. He scored his third touchdown of the first half with a brutal run play of 36 yards to make it 27-0 with 1:37 left in the half.
Briceton Johnson was finally able to get the Wolverines on the board on the ensuing kickoff as the talented playmaker took back the kick to make it 27-7 at the half.
It was more of the same for the two teams in the second half as Terrence McNeal ran back the opening kick right away in the third quarter and made it 34-7 going into the fourth quarter. Daygan Crowley was able to score in the fourth with a 27-yard run to cut the lead to 34-14, but the Chargers would get the final score midway through on a Cork run to win the game by 26 points.
After leaving a win on the field against the Wildcats the week before, it was tough for Price and his staff to stomach the blowout loss to the Chargers.
“It’s very frustrating. Friday night when we got back, all the coaches were just sitting in the coach’s office and nobody was saying anything,” Price said. “It hurt to lose the game against Calhoun City because we second guessed all the plays we didn’t make. I thought we had a good week of practice but to go out and perform the way we did on Friday was very frustrating. All we can do is go back to work.”
The loss dropped the Wolverines to 4-3 on the season and 0-2 in Region 2 play. It makes for an important finish to the year for EWHS. This week, the team will be getting out of conference play.
Aberdeen is the opponent as the Wolverines move up to Class 3A to play on the road before closing out the year against Eupora and Bruce. It makes for a really important week of preparation.
“With a game that we have the following week against Eupora, it’s an opportunity that we have to get some kids in different positions and give some players an opportunity to show they have what it takes to get it done. That game against Eupora is going to be very significant for playoff positioning so we have to get our guys ready this week against Aberdeen,” Price said.
“They’re super athletic. They’re no different than Calhoun City and Choctaw County. They’re very well-coached, have athletes all over the field and are flying toward the ball on defense. It’s a tremendous challenge for us.”
