East Webster football coach Ron Price was anxious to see how his team was going to respond after losing their first game last week. Price got his answer on Thursday night as the Wolverines broke open a tight game with three straight second-half scores to beat J.Z. George 41-6.
With the win, the Wolverines are now 7-1 on the season and will have the week off. They will return in two weeks to take on rival Eupora.
On Thursday night, the Wolverines answered any worries that Price had water the loss to Calhoun City.
“I was anxious to see how our kids would respond after the loss to Calhoun City,” Price said. “We had a good week of practice and I think our team has a lot of character. They hit us with a long pass early but we were able to make the stop. Our offense then put them in the end zone. I was extremely proud of the way we played.”
J.Z. George got the ball to start the game and immediately hit a 78-yard pass. But the drive stalled at the East Webster 5 on downs. East then responded with a 14-play drive thanks to some strong running by Tyrik Pittman and Steven Betts. Pittman capped off the drive with a 3-yard run with 3:03 left in the first quarter. Parker Burleson booted the PAT and East Webster led 7-0.
After a J.Z. George punt, the Wolverines needed just two plays to go 58 yards. Pittman ripped off a 50-yard run to open the drive and then scored on an 8-yard run with 11:21 left in the second. Burleson’s PAT failed and East Webster led 13-0.
The Wolverines got break when J.Z. George muffed a punt. East then moved 41 yards in three plays at Betts hit Conner Shurden on a 38-yard touchdown pass with 6:10 left in the second. Burleson’t PAT was good and East led 20-0.
JZG cut into that lead as they went 80 yards in 12 plays, scoring on a 24-yard before the half expired. The PAT was blocked and East led 20-6 at the half.
“I thought Tyrik Pittman had a great game running the football,” Price said. “We just had to feel the hot hand. Tyrik was having success and the offensive line was doing a good job of run blocking. He ended up with 140 yard and probably had his best game of the season.”
The Wolverines got the ball to start the second half and wasted little time finding the end zone as Pittman raced 60 yards on the first play of the second half for a touchdown. Burleson’s PAT was good and East led 27-6 with 11:49 left in the third.
The Wolverines were given a short field when the J.Z. George punter dropped the snap, putting the ball on the 20. Five plays later, Pittman scored on a 1-yard run with 8:08 left in the third. Burleson’s PAT gave East a 34-6 lead.
East Webster got the ball back two plays later on an interception by Jon Cunningham. East Webster then went 15 yards in five plays as Betts scored on a 1-yard run. Burleson’s PAT was good and East Webster led 41-6.
East Webster had 320 yards of total offense with 255 on the ground. Betts was 3-of-6 passing for 65 yards and rushed for 60 yards on 10 carries. Pittman had 140 yards on 14 carries while Debo Pittman had 47 yards rushing on two carries.
On defense, Ethan Roberts had 11 tackles to lead the way while Kobe Smith and Luke McKee had seven tackles. Cunningham and Shurden each had five tackles while Patterson, Isaac Jones, Kainan Reed, Caleb Massey and Sedrick Taylor each had four tackles.
“I thought the defense played really well,” Price said. “J.Z. George is good at what they do and their running back is a really good high school football player. We gave up a few plays but I thought we played a 48-minute game. I was homecoming and you’re always nervous about that. We were able to put the game away in the third and Gabel to get some young guys in the game and that makes for a good night.”
