Wilson’s offense runs over Panthers

FISHERSVILLE — It was one night when everything came together.

Wilson Memorial (3-5, 1-2 Shenandoah) erupted for four second-quarter touchdowns and held Page County (2-6, 0-3 Shenandoah) to 91 yards of offense as the Green Hornets knocked out the Panthers 38-0 in Shenandoah District football action Friday.

Wilson bruised the Panther defense with 364 yards on the ground and held the visitors to just nine to grab its third win of the year.

“For our coaches, it was just one of those games where everything comes together — everything jells,” Wilson coach Derek McDaniel said. “Everything just fell into place.”

The Wilson defense held junior quarterback Dakota Wolf to just eight completions for 82 yards and sacked the Page junior five times.

Offensively, the Hornets were just as tough as juniors Connery Swift and Christian Miller rushed for 155 and 139 yards respectively, to land the relentless one-two punch.

After the Green Hornets stopped the first Page drive, Jake Bailey drove the squad to the Panther’s 21-yard line where senior Ben Hopewell drilled a 39-yard field goal to put the hosts on the board.

The Wilson defense stopped the Page spread offense inside its own 20 on its next possession and used the good field position for a 45-yard scoring drive to open the second frame. Richard Andrews scampered the final four yards and the Hopewell boot started an offensive mother lode for the Hornets in the second.

Swift scored twice in the period on runs of nine and 55 yards while Miller’s 15-yard burst on a misdirection play gave the crowd something to yell about.

Swift’s first score followed a Page fumble and Miller drove another nail in the coffin with his run after just a four-play drive. Swift added a long TD-run down the host’s sideline and made a couple of nifty moves to get into the end zone with just two minutes left in the half. Hopewell kicked all four extra points for the 31-0 half time lead.

“The kids played well,” McDaniel said. “And I can’t say enough about our coaches. I thought Brian [Cash] and Jeremiah [Major] had great game plans.”

McDaniel said that Cash ran three defensive schemes and called all the plays.

On offense, Major made the right moves at the right times.

“I don’t think he could have called a better game,” McDaniel said of his offensive coordinator. “He ran inside and outside. He ran misdirection plays and boot[leg]s. Once we started getting [Page] wide, we passed and ran back inside.

“I didn’t make any calls all night,” he said.

Sophomore Westin Cash led the defense with 12 tackles while Chris Trimble recovered a Page fumble and Hopewell picked off a pass deep in Wilson territory to squash a late first-half Panther drive.

The Green Hornets put the game to rest early in the third quarter. Miller’s 47-yard kickoff return set the hosts up at the Page 43. Five plays later, Jake Bailey found a wide-open Cash on a post pattern for a 28-yard touchdown.

“The offense and defense seemed to play off each other,” McDaniel said.  “When we had a great defensive stop, the offense made the most of it. When the offense made the big plays for a score, the defense would come out and make a stand.”

Justin Breeden was the only bright spot of the Page offense. He caught five passes for 36 yards but Wilson limited his yards after the catch.

The Hornets will travel to Luray Friday for an important Shenandoah match up.