After spending three weeks away from the football field, East Webster was back last week and just in time for the annual Maroon Bowl rivalry. The Wolverines looked like a team that hadn’t played a game in three weeks in the first half as they trailed by two touchdowns, but they responded. Tied at 14 with under 2 minutes remaining, Wolverines’ running back Tyrik Pittman found a seam off the left side and burst through for daylight until he hit paydirt and a 38-yard score for the 21-14 win. From nagging injuries to the three weeks lost due to a coronavirus quarantine and bye week, this performance was extra sweet for Pittman. “It was amazing. I saw a hole, cut off my guard and went straight to the end zone,” Pittman said. “We were talking about it all week with the offensive line. I told them to get on their block and stay and I’ll find a way.” Pittman led the way for the Wolverines with his 15 carries, 182 yards and a touchdown and he was strong from start to finish running the football. The Wolverines as a group had 385 yards rushing against Eupora with a large chunk coming in the second half. Quarterback Steven Betts had 23 carries for 122 yards and a touchdown and Zy Ford had four carries for 68 yards and a score himself. Neither team got off to a rousing start in the ball game with positive yards hard to come by in the first quarter, much less points. The Eagles’ defense would be the first to spark something for the offense as Tra McComb picked off a Betts interception and returned it 60 yards to put the Eagles in their best field position of the night at the EWHS 20. Quarterback Ty Murphy dumped off a pass to a crossing Orlandes Gray on the ensuing drive and the running back took it to the end zone for the 20-yard score and a 7-0 lead with 10 minutes left in the half. The Eagles kept the momentum going on the next possession after forcing a punt as Murphy raced up the middle untouched for an 85-yard score and the 14-0 lead. The Wolverines had a chance to score before the half after an interception from Luke Mckee but Betts was unable to get it to the end zone passing and the Wolverines went to the locker room trailing by two scores. “I told my football team at halftime that in the first 24 minutes when a play needed to be made East Webster was not making it,” EWHS coach Ron Price said. “I think it was the fact that we haven’t played, it’s a rivalry game with a big crowd. We came out in the second half and defense played East Webster defense and offense got enough points on the board for us to win.” Betts had 12 rushing yards in the first half but came out fired up in the second half. He had an 18-yard touchdown on the opening possession of the quarter and a 35-yard run that set up a 3-yard score from Zy Ford that would knot the game at 14 with 5 minutes left in the third. As Eupora locked back in on the defensive side of the ball the two teams were deadlocked. The Eagles were able to drive the ball down to the EWHS 20, but they missed a 34-yard field goal wide left to give the Wolverines the ball with under 5 minutes remaining. Betts and Pittman pushed the pile to the 38 when Pittman broke off the big run for the score. The defense got a turnover on downs on the next possession and hit the victory formation to get the win. For head coach Stephen Edwards of Eupora, it was obviously frustrating. His defense got the stops it needed in the first half and he had 11 carries for 98 yards and a touchdown from Murphy while also going 6-for-15 for 70 yards passing and a score. The Wolverines’ fight in the second half was too tough, however. “Betts is a player. He took over a little bit and we didn’t tackle as well as we needed to,” Edwards said. “They’re well-coached and have good players. Their seniors led. Sometimes you’ve got to give the other team credit. They made plays when they needed to and we didn’t. That’s what happens.” Eupora (5-4, 2-2 Class 2A, Region 2) will close out the regular season next week when they take on Houston for Senior Night at home. The Eagles are currently third place in the division behind J.Z. George and No. 1 Calhoun City with the Wildcats playing the Jaguars next week to close out the regular season for the district championship. With a J.Z. George loss, they will be the No. 2 seed in the playoffs. While the Eagles are undoubtedly in the playoffs, EWHS (3-4, 1-2 Region 2) will have to win this week against Bruce to get in due to the forfeited games against J.Z. George and Calhoun City. A win over Bruce and a J.Z. George loss will have the Wolverines with the No. 4 seed. No matter the case or the seed for the Wolverines, they’re just happy to be back on the field. “I’m so proud of this football team. With it being a four-quarter battle, that’s what we needed. We had not played football in three weeks. We needed to play a 48 minute game for us to get in shape for next and for the playoffs. Hopefully we’ll come in Monday focused,” Price said. “I told these kids all week to not take this for granted. (Friday) we got to play football against our rival. Webster county was here having a good time and the East Webster Wolverines got the win. So, so thankful for the opportunity.”
