Hornets’ offense pummels Bulldogs

LURAY — On this Halloween, Wilson Memorial turned back all the tricks Luray had for them, and with a strong first half, was treated to a 24-13 Shenandoah District win over the Bulldogs.

Scoring all their points in the first 12 minutes and 24 seconds, the Hornets held on for their fourth win of the season, snuffing out an attempted second half comeback by the ‘Dawgs.

“I’m ecstatic,” said Wilson coach Derek McDaniel. “That’s a big win for us.”

Wilson got started with a productive punt return by Christian Miller to the Luray 35.

From there, freshman running back Connery Swift did most of the damage on the ground, completing the Hornets’ opening drive with a 10-yard touchdown run.

Ben Hopewell’s PAT gave the visitors a 7-0 lead with 8:15 remaining in the first period.

On Luray’s next series, Miller stripped the ball away from Johnny Van Wyck and scooted into the end zone with the fumble from 35 yards out. The extra point was good again and Wilson had two scores on the board with 6:27 still left in the opening quarter.

But the Hornets weren’t through.

Forcing Luray to punt again, Wilson took the ball back again at the Luray 47. After a long pass from the sophomore quarterback to Torrence Hailstalk, the Hornets were set inside the red zone. The drive stalled, but Hopewell nailed a 36-yard field goal for a 17-0 Hornets’ lead with 3:01 remaining in the period.

“We did some really good things on defense,” McDaniel said.

The Wilson defense responded again on the next series when senior Richard Andrews picked off a Willie Logan pass, returning the interception to the Luray 25.

Then on the second play of the second quarter, Miller scored again from the Bulldogs’ three yard line and Hopewell’s conversion put Wilson up 24-0.

Although the Luray defense clamped down from then on, too much damage had been done despite the best efforts of Logan and wide receiver Jon Ernest to get the ‘Dawgs back into the game.

Logan connected with Ernest in the final minute of the half on a long pass. Ernest caught the ball, avoided a tackler and tightroped down the sideline for a 60-yard touchdown.

Ernest set the Bulldogs up with another scoring opportunity after intercepting Bailey and returning the ball to the Wilson 39, but the Hornets’ defense prevented Luray from scoring.

In the fourth quarter, Luray’s Johnny Mathis blocked Hopewell’s punt and Logan immediately found Ernest open in the end zone. The Hornets blocked the extra point, but the Bulldogs narrowed the score to 24-13 with 4:29 remaining in the game.

Luray’s onside kick attempt was recovered by the Hornets.

Wilson ran a couple of important minutes off the clock before punting back to the Bulldogs.

Wilson’s defense responded again as Logan failed to connect on four pass attempts.

“We had opportunities early and took advantage of them,” McDaniel said. “We have a lot of young kids that play hard.”

With the loss, Luray fell to 4-5 overall and 2-2 in the district.

“We didn’t give the effort that we’ve been giving in the other games,” said disappointed Luray coach Travis Osborne. “To not be able to give that for your Homecoming game isn’t good.”

The win improved Wilson to 4-5 overall and 2-2 in district play. The Hornets finish out with a home game against Stonewall Jackson next Friday.

“When we were 2-5, we said that we needed to start a new season and finish 3-0,” McDaniel said. “If we can beat Stonewall, we’ll finish at .500. Our kids have great heart and great desire.”