WAYNESBORO – A sign hung on the Wayne County home side stating deja vu … 2003. That was the year West Jones defeated Wayne County during the regular season, before the War Eagles came back to capture the playoff game en route to a Class 4A state championship. Both games were played in Waynesboro.
Friday night, the bittersweet curtain again closed on the Mustangs’ season as they fell to Wayne County, 38-21. With the win, the War Eagles (9-3) will now face Moss Point for the Class 5A South State title. West, who had been ranked number one in the class 5A poll all season, ends its campaign with an 11-1 record.
“It’s just one of those things that just happens,” said Wayne County coach Marcus Boyles, whose club fell at home to West Jones back in October. “We knew they would come back ready to play and we knew that our kids had to be ready.
“It was also kind of a payback for last year, if you wanna call it that,” he continued. “They beat us and we were heavily favored. This year, they were the favorites and we were able to come in and get the win.”
With the score tied 14-14 in the second quarter, the War Eagles scored 14 points in the final 2:56 of the half to put the ball game away.
The first score came on a 39-yard keeper by Demarcus Henderson with 1:53 left before the intermission, while the second came on a 32-yard pass from Henderson to Shauncie Cunningham. The second score came when West quarterback Ben Stevens fumbled a snap at the Wayne 19, which was recovered by the War Eagles.
“We had a good game plan,” said Henderson. “We knew coming in they would do a lot of blitzing and our coaches made some changes and that really helped us.”
Wayne put the first points on the board on their first series, when Andre Rankin crashed over from the 1. The score was set up by a 50-yard pass from Henderson to Malik Lofton. Reynolds PAT was true and with just 1:01 off the clock in the opening period, the War Eagles held a 7-0 lead.
The Mustangs defense set up West’s first score when Matthew Farrar intercepted a Henderson pass and returned the ball 41 yards to the Wayne 49. Four plays later, Stevens connected with Xavier Hilton on an inside screen that turned into a 21-yard TD run. Hunter Estess added the conversion to tie the score with 4:49 still left in the first quarter.
The War Eagles regained the lead in early in the second quarter when Henderson fumbled the snapped but picked the loose ball up and scrambled 7 yards to the end zone. The play capped an 8-play, 80-yard drive highlighted by a pair of 15-yard passes. Reynolds added the conversion to give Wayne a 14-7 lead with 8:44 to go in the half.
A fumble recovery at by West at the Wayne 6 set up the Mustangs final score of the half. Two plays later Stevens connected with Trey Winpigler on a 4-yard pass. Estess’s kick was good for a 14-14 score.
West Jones put its final points of the game on the scoreboard when Stevens and D.J. Robinson connected on a 60-yard toss and run just 1:03 into the third quarter for a 28-21 score.
But the War Eagles responded with a 9-play, 65-yard drive that consumed 3:22 seconds of the period. Rankin capped the drive with a 2-yard run with 7:25 left in the quarter to take a 35-21 advantage.
Wayne County’s final points came on a 31-yard field goal by Reynolds with 2:23 left in the contest.
“They just whipped us up front on both sides of the ball,” said West coach Scott Pierson. “We battled hard, but they out played us. This is a bitter taste right now for our coaches, players, community… everyone associated with West Jones. But we will work hard and we will over come this.”
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SWEET REVENGE
Wayne Co. knocks off West Jones when it counts
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