Waynesboro gets 1st win

Bottom feeders no more.

The Waynesboro Little Giants manhandled Rockbridge in the first half and held on to win their first game of the season, a 21-12 victory over the winless Wildcats.

“Hey, we won one,” Giants’ coach Steve Isaacs said after the game.

Isaacs praised his defense for shutting down the high-powered passing attack of quarterback Blake Coffey.

“We didn’t know what to expect [from Rockbridge],” Isaacs said. “Rockbridge has so many different looks, but we did a good job of covering the receivers, especially in the first half.”

Waynesboro (1-8, 1-2 Southern Valley) held the Wildcats to just 109 yards of offense before intermission as Coffey completed just two passes for 18 yards. 

And offensively, Waynesboro ran at will with both Bryant Carter and Justin Clark scoring on long runs.

Carter’s 49-yard sprint down the left sideline opened the scoring on the Little Giants’ first possession and Clark finished off a three-play, 65-yard drive with a 57-yarder with just under eight minutes left in the second half.

Clark ran off tackle, made a nifty cut and ran untouched into the end zone. Eric Simonson connected on both extra points as Waynesboro took the early 14-0 lead.

A bit of luck played a role in the halftime lead as well.

On the ensuing kickoff, Simonson drove a low kick near the sideline and the Wildcats’ Ling Zheng looked to let the ball go out of bounds. But the pigskin had other ideas and Zheng ended up with the ball at the 13-yard line. Coffey fumbled on the next play and an alert Blayne Brown recovered.

Clark scored on a five-yard sweep two plays later.

Brown played a huge role in the Little Giants’ first half shutout. He stuffed Coffey for a four-yard loss just before Rockbridge gave up the football on downs on its first possession. 

Then, as the Wildcats (0-8, 0-3 Southern Valley) were moving on their next series, the sophomore defensive back stopped Coffey one-yard short on third-and-six, forcing Rockbridge to punt.

Brown’s fumble recovery on the visitor’s next possession set up the third Waynesboro score of the half and he finished off the half with a sack to force another Rockbridge punt with just over three minutes left in the period.

But the Wildcats came out of halftime fired up.

Coffey directed a 12-play, 65-yard drive by hitting three passes for 26 yards and running for 32 more. Quenten Youngblood finished off the series with a three-yard dive to put the Wildcats on the board. The kick failed, but Rockbridge had come to life.

“We knew we couldn’t hold them down all night,” Isaacs said.  “We bent a bit, but didn’t break.”

Waynesboro got very little done on offense in the third quarter, getting just 21 yards on two possessions and the Wildcats took advantage.

Coffey moved the ball 90 yards with a combination of passes and scrambles, and Youngblood plowed in from the one-yard line to cap off the drive. But Waynesboro stuffed Zheng on the two-point conversion to keep the Wildcats two scores away with nearly seven minutes left in the game.

The Little Giants managed enough offense to hold onto the football for the next 5:29 and Coffey was forced into a two-minute offense. An interception by Clark put the game away.

“This [win] was a great one for our defense,” Isaacs said. “We’ve been on a learning curve all year and things seemed to fall into place. We’ll be alright,”

Coffey finished with just 75 yards in the air on 8-of-20 passing, a season low.

Waynesboro’s Clark finished with 85 yards on 14 carries and Carter added 57 yards on just four totes.

The Little Giants will host Stuarts Draft Friday night in the annual brawl for the “Ball” while Rockbridge will travel to Lee.