For the second straight week, East Webster’s opponent took the opening kickoff and drove down for a touchdown.
For the second straight week, the Wolverines overcame that slow start and fought back to take a win. Friday night in came in the form of a 23-12 victory over Shaw, improving the Wolverines to 2-0 on the season.
Coach Ron Price was glad to get the win, despite the fact that the Wolverines lost three fumbles that kept Hawks in the game.
“I was proud of our football team,” Price said. “We had to play a 48 full minutes and they never gave up. If it hadn’t been for the turnovers, I think the score would have been a lot different. We continued to execute on offense and defense and never gave up the big play. We were able to get a late touchdown to seal the win and I was just glad to get out of there with a win.”
Shaw took the opening kick and went 80 yards in seven plays, scoring on an 11-yard run with 8:53 left in the first. The two-point try failed and Shaw led 6-0.
“If we can overcome that first defensive series, I think we will be okay,” Price said. “The last two weeks, both teams have scored on the first series and the defense has played really well after that. We had some chances to get off the field and weren’t able to make those plays. But the defense settled down and controlled the game from there.”
The East Webster offense struggled on its first three series that ended in fumbles, the last at the Shaw 3 with 9:57 left in the first half.
A bad snap over the head of the Shaw punter gave East Webster a safety and cut the lead to 6-2.
The Wolverines got a short field and used five plays to find the end zone as Debo Patterson scored on a 3-yard touchdown run with 7:00 left in the first half. Parker Burleson’s PAT was good and East Webster led 9-6.
Shaw gave the ball right back as Sedrick Taylor recovered fumble at the Hawks 23.
Three plays later, Steven Betts hit Gray McCarter on a short pass that the senior turned into a 36-yard touchdown pass with 5:43 left in the half. Burleson’s PAT was good and East Webster led 16-6.
The Wolverines turned Shaw over on downs and were driving for a score when Betts fumbled and Shaw picked it up and returned it 65 yards for a touchdown with 2:19 left in the half. The two-point attempt failed and East Webster led 16-12 at the half.
“We were up 16-6 and turned the ball over and that changed everything,” Price said. “We were able to separate from them and really take charge of the game. One play turned the game around and they had all the confidence and momentum.”
Shaw had a chance to take the lead when they blocked a Burleson field-goal attempt but McCarter made a score-saving tackle to preserve the lead.
“That was a huge play in the game,” Price said. “They had a chance to go score and Gray made a hustle play and stopped them from scoring. That might have saved the game for us."
The Wolverines pulled away as they went 57 yards in seven plays. After a big 28-yard reception by Conner Shurden, Tyrik Pittman scored on a 5-yard touchdown run. Burleson’s PAT made the score 23-12.
The Wolverines had 381 yards of total offense with 73 passing and 308 rushing. Betts was 3-of-9 passing with one TD. Betts led the rushing attack as well, rushing for 161 yards on 26 carries while Pittman also had a good night, rushing for 130 yards on 18 carries. Shurden had two catches for 37 yards.
“I thought we ran the ball a lot better,” Price said. “That was our game plan going in. We knew exactly what they were going to give us. The offensive line didn’t play well in week one but we challenged them in practice to be better as a unit. Caleb Massey has put that unit on his shoulder. They did a good job of opening holes and we did a better job of hitting the holes in the second half.”
Kobe Smith had seven tackles and four tackles for loss, including three sacks to lead the Wolverines while Shurden had six tackles. Carter Flora and Caleb Massey each had five tackles while Luke McKee had four tackles. Ethan Roberts had two fumble recoveries while Massey caused two fumbles and had one recovery. Sedrick Taylor also had a fumble recovery while Daniel Rogers had three pass deflections.
