The Press Sentinel staff writers

Matt Aiken

STAFF WRITER

“I’m so proud I can’t see straight,” exclaimed a buoyant Head Coach Daryl Jones, as he stepped lightly off the field Friday. His squad of Yellow Jackets were celebrating their 12-6 victory over rival Appling County a few yards behind him.

Apparently his players saw straight however, as they earned a hard fought victory over the scrappy Pirates who kept the game in question until the clock wound to nothing.

“We fought and scratched till the last second,” said Jones.

Wayne County’s special teams shone brightly throughout the night as half the team’s 12 points came off the steady leg of place-kicker Zac Smith. With 5:10 left in the first quarter the Jackets took the lead as Smith split the uprights with a 27-yard field goal, bringing the score to 3-0, where it would stand throughout the rest of the quarter. The field goal was set up by a 39-yard run by Antonio Atkins.

Atkins had one of his best games in his career, rushing for 96 yards on 21 carries.

The Jacket’s defense set the tone early in the second quarter as Chad Deal busted through Appling’s offensive line to bring down Antonio Horne for loss of 9 yards. Two plays later, a botched snap by the Pirates left the Jackets 17 yards from the end zone and poised to strike.

Wayne County’s offense quickly capitalized as quarterback Josh Roberts nosed through the end zone after gaining ground on three consecutive running plays. This gave Wayne County its first and only touchdown of the night. After Smith’s extra point attempt fell short, the score sat at 9-0.

To start the next series, kicker Kyle Keown lofted the ball through the Pirates’ end zone forcing them to start from their 20-yard line. Keown’s foot kept the Pirates in a hole most of the night. Two of his kickoffs sailed through the end zone. A third kick would have but it was called back as the result of an offsides penalty.

However, following a first down, Appling running back Jakharis Jones shot up field for a 19-yard gain, followed by an 11-yard run by fellow running back Brian Smith two plays later. On offense, Appling used a wishbone set for most of its running plays. The Pirates churned up most of their 211 yards on the ground by sweeping their running backs outside to the left and to the right.

With 5:21 left in the second quarter and the Pirates threatening on the Wayne County’s 30-yard line, the Jacket defense held tough, forcing a fumble which was recovered by Tommy Weatherspoon.

Appling County had a tough night handling the ball by turning it over with fumbles three times.

However, an errant backwards lateral by Roberts on the next play bounced around the backfield until Appling fell on it at Wayne County’s 23-yard line. Undaunted, the Jacket defense held strong, budging only one yard throughout the next four plays until Pirate quarterback Clint Smith failed to connect on fourth down and 19. A personal foul penalty by the Jackets after the play had ended gave the Jackets the ball deep in their own territory, but with only a few seconds left in the half they were able to wind down the clock.

The second half opened with an air of familiarity as Keown once again kicked deep into the Pirates’ end zone. Likewise, after Brian Smith’s 19-yard run down field, Appling fumbled and Wayne recovered as Chad Deal came up with the ball beneath a stack of red and white jerseys. Five plays later, Wayne County’s place-kicker Smith launched his second field goal of the game from 36-yards deep, bringing the score to 12-0 with 9:15 remaining in the third quarter.

The rest of the game was pretty much a battle between Wayne County’s defense and Appling’s offense. Wayne used a bend-but-don’t-break defense which gave up a lot of yardage but only allowed one score.

The Jackets failed to capitalize on a fumble forced by a vicious blow from Weatherspoon to Clint Smith, and Appling dug in at the Wayne County 35-yard line with 7:20 left in the third quarter. A 15-yard run by the quarterback Clint Smith, combined with a 10-yard scramble by Brian Smith allowed Jakharis Jones to dash in the end zone for Appling’s first touchdown with 6:15 left in the third. After missing the extra point, the score remained 12-6.

After swapping the ball on downs, the Pirates again found themselves in great position to score.

With 6:34 left in to the fourth quarter, the Pirates were about 20 yards from the Yellow Jacket end zone. Once again, the Jacket defense withstood the test, as the Pirates fell just short of tying the game when Roberts stopped Clint Smith from running in on a fourth-down scramble.

With the clock winding down, a packed house at Jaycee Stadium rose to its feet to witness Appling County make one last charge and the Jackets make one last stand.

With Keown punting from deep in Yellow Jacket territory, the Pirates ran a reverse on the punt return. Appling’s Derek Robinson took the ball from around the 50-yard line and ran it back to Wayne County’s 13-yard line with 1:57 left in the game. Robinson was stopped short of a touchdown by a diving tackle by Roberts.

On first down, quarterback Clint Smith went back to pass but was met by a charging Weatherspoon who came through the line to deliver a huge sack. The Pirates would gain no more yardage as the Jacket defense didn’t budge an inch through the next three plays, sealing the win as an ecstatic home crowd danced in the stands.

Afterwards, Jones had nothing but praise for his squad.

“I’m so proud of our kids it’s unbelievable,” said Jones, citing the fact that the team was coming off a tough loss in Valdosta.

When asked to name the key players of the game Jones did not hesitate.

“All of them.”



Benedictine Cadets

The Yellow Jackets will face the Benedictine Cadets next Friday night in Savannah.

Benedictine is coming off of a big 27-0 win over Beach. The Cadets’s record stands at 2-0.

In Friday’s game the Cadets’ defense was the big factor in the game.

By game’s end, Beach amassed only 28 yards— a remarkable minus-7 coming in the decisive opening half, when the Cadets built a 20-0 advantage.

The Cadets stopped Beach at or behind the line of scrimmage on 30 of 43 plays.

On offense the Cadets rushed for only 45 yards, but passed for 168. In the first half quarterback Matthew Dotson connected on 7 of 9 attempts for 108 yards. He threw two touchdown passes, one for 6 yards and the other for 33 yards. He also threw two interceptions.

The game will start at 7:30 p.m.