East Webster football coach Ron Price said the Wolverines weren’t sound on special teams last year and made that a point of emphasis this offseason.
After falling behind 6-0, that off-season focus paid dividends.
A punt return for a touchdown by Tyrik Pittman sparked the Wolverines to 35 straight points and a 35-6 win over South Pontotoc on Friday night in the season opener for both teams.
For Price, it was a nice win after falling behind early in the game.
“It’s been a long summer in the weight room and it’s good to get out there and play a real football game,” Price said. “We had a couple of lightning delays and it’s hard to keep the kids focused when you do that. To be able to deal with those delays and to be able to get the season going with a win is nice. To taste success makes all that work in the summer pay off.”
South Pontotoc got the ball to start the game and drive 66 yards in 12 plays as they scored on a 12-yard touchdown pass with 6:51 left in the first. The PAT failed and South Pontotoc led 6-0.
“One of the things we are preaching to our kids is coming out and starting the game at the kickoff,” Price said. “Last year, we had a tendency to get behind early and put ourselves into a hole. We have challenged them to be ready for the opening kick. Our kids gave up a touchdown on the first drive and our kids responded to that.”
The two teams swapped punts and the Wolverines got a 38-yard punt return for a touchdown from Pittman. Parker Burleson booted the PAT and East Webster led 7-6.
East Webster added two field goals in the first half from Burleson with a 26-yarder and a 30-yarder. The Wolverines got a safety from Cam Jennings and a score from the offense as Steven Betts hit Conner Shurden on a 13-yard touchdown pass with 2:15 left in the first half as the Wolverines led 22-6 at the half.
“We were able to pin them deep and Tyrik returned the punt and gave us great effort getting to the wall,” Price said. “From that moment, we pretty much dominated the game. You never know what play is going to swing the game. I thought we did a good job of winning the special teams portion of the game. Parker kicked two field goals and had three touchbacks on kickoffs.”
After an interception to start the second half, Shurden made a big play on defense as he picked off a pass by South Pontotoc and returned it 71 yards for a touchdown. The PAT was blocked and East Webster led 28-6.
East’s last score came in the fourth quarter when Ethan Roberts scored on a 2-yard run. Burleson’s PAT made the score 35-6.
The Wolverines had just 169 yards of total offense with 65 passing and 104 rushing. Betts was 4-of-16 passing for 65 yards and rushed for 40 yards on 14 carries.
“I think our biggest disappointment is our offensive execution,” Price said. “We didn’t perform well on offense. We didn’t finish drives. You are happy to get those points but I would much rather be kicking extra points instead of field goals. We had some breakdowns up front but that’s to be expected with a lot of new starters u front. We struggled in the running game and didn’t throw the ball well. Thank goodness the defense executed its job and the special teams were good. I know our coaches will come back to work and fix those mistakes.”
On defense, Kobe Smith led the Wolverines with 13 tackles and four sacks and had one safety. Cam Jennings had seven tackles and a sack while Jackson Dean and Caleb Massey each had five tackles and one tackle for loss. Carter Flora also had four tackles while Shurden had three tackles and an interceptions. Sedrick Taylor had three tackles while Ethan Roberts, Austin O’Briant, Daniel Rogers, Isaac Jones and Preston Hill all had two tackles apiece.
