Things looked bleak for the East Webster Wolverines last Friday night as the season hung in the balance against Walnut. The second round matchup allowed the Wolverines to play in Cumberland, but they were struggling to stop Walnut from scoring and moving the ball. That’s when senior quarterback Steven Betts took control. Trailing 36-21 in the fourth quarter, Betts challenged his team to get points so they could stay in the game. He led the team to a score and then helped them get a stop on defense. What followed was a comeback to remember that ended with Betts leaping into the end zone for a 2-point conversion in double overtime and a 52-50 win. “These kids just know when the lights come on that Steven is going to give them everything that he possibly has,” Price said. “Fourth quarter and overtime he was exhausted but we needed him to go out and play defense too. He’s an amazing kid. He can get it done when it matters.” Leave it all on the field? It was left in triumph for Betts and heartbreak for Colom who was offered words of encouragement by EWHS coach Ron Price as he sat in the end zone dejected in the midst of celebration. Betts finished the night with 20 carries for 156 yards and four touchdowns on the ground, but the difference came with the passing offense. The quarterback told Price that they were going to have success in the air and success they had as he went 7-for-11 for 209 yards and a touchdown passing. Pittman finished with 12 carries for 101 yards and two touchdowns and had two catches for 54 yards while Luke McKee and Carter Flora came up with big catches as did Jontavis Cunningham late. The Wildcats’ offense has been one of Class 2A’s highest scoring offenses all season and they showed why for most of the game. Thanks to speedy running back Colom II, Walnut had a 22-14 lead at the break as he single-handedly was putting the points on the board. Colom scored three of his five touchdowns in the first two quarters breaking off runs of 60, 55 and 6 yards for scores. The Wolverines, on the other hand, were staying in the game with Betts and running back Tyrik Pittman as they both had eight carries for over 70 yards. Betts scored on a 29 and 21-yard run in the first half but the team couldn’t score inside the 10 right before halftime. In the second half, getting stops were hard to come by for the Wolverines and they weren’t capitalizing out of the locker room on offense. They had a turnover on downs on offense around midfield but a second chance after Kobe Smith recovered a fumble. That possession, too, came up empty and the Wildcats drove down the field 90 yards to go up two scores. In the fourth quarter when EWHS went down by 15 points, Betts went to work. He pushed the team down the field with his leg and his arm and set up a 6-yard run from Pittman to cut the lead to a touchdown at 36-29 with 7 minutes left. “I just looked at the offense and I said ‘we’ve got to score or it’s over’,” Betts said. “Coach Price put the ball in my hand and I made (Walnut) pay for it.” On the next possession Betts went into the game at linebacker to try to ignite a spark in the defense. Ignite he did as he helped force a turnover on downs on four rushes for four yards and gave the team the ball back inside Walnut territory. That’s when he hit a 35-yard touchdown pass to Jontavis Cunningham and tied the game at 36-36 with 3 minutes left. The defense got one more stop and that would force overtime. The Betts/Colom show didn’t stop in regulation. Betts scored on a 20-yard run on the first play of overtime and got the 2 point conversion, but Colom followed with the same result on a 10-yard run and conversion to go to overtime number two. The game changed quickly in the second overtime after an 8-yard score from Tony Luellen of Walnut. After the play, a tussle on the ground saw a Walnut player throw several punches on top of Betts and force an ejection and personal foul penalty. The long 2 point conversion failed and gave EWHS the ball with a chance to win it. Betts wasn’t going to be denied. “I looked at my offensive line and told them to get me in,” Betts said. The senior quarterback scored easily on the 10-yard run and followed that up with a 2 point attempt from a yard out to send the Wolverine faithful into pandemonium and the team into the third round. That third round matchup is one they’ve been waiting for. After losing by forfeit due to coronavirus earlier in the year, EWHS gets a chance to face Calhoun City on the field to settle the score. The Wolverines (6-4) can get to North State for the first time with 2015 with a win, but they’ll have to beat the Wildcats for the first time in over a decade to do it. “It’s the third round of the playoffs so there’s not going to be any bad teams left. To have to forfeit to them midseason and to have the opportunity to play them, we will be able to settle it on the field. I didn’t want to have to spend the rest of my life wondering who would win that football game. We have the opportunity to go settle this. “At the end of 48 minutes, the team that can get one more point will be the victor and move on to the north half state championship game. I’m so proud of our kids, I’m thankful for the opportunity that we have ahead of us. I hope that we can stay healthy and Calhoun City can stay healthy and we get the opportunity to play football.”
