WCHS earns spot in the playoffs
In spite of a cold start, the West Carroll High School War Eagles soon got their offensive engine burning on all cylinders and claimed a 43-12 homecoming win over the South Fulton Red Devils Thursday night in Atwood.
And with that regional win, the War Eagles secured a spot in the playoffs and will end the regular season in either third or fourth place in Region 7A, regardless of how things pan out in the upcoming regular season closers Friday night. Either way, West Carroll will be on the road in the first round on Nov. 6.
On Thursday night, West Carroll outrushed South Fulton 285 yards to 88 for the game with 111 yards produced by running back Malik Lee, 89 yards added on keepers by quarterback Xander Moon, and 71 yards contributed by Deven Rader.
Moon and his receivers delivered another 101 yards passing for a total of 386 yards on offense for the War Eagles.
West Carroll’s defense also gave a solid performance, forcing South Fulton’s offense to punt away five of seven possessions during the game. Cody Wildridge led the defensive effort with eight tackles, followed by Jack Barrow with 6, Hudson Bolton with five, and Jacob Blankenship with four.
The Red Devils put the first dent in the scoreboard, capping off their opening drive with a one-yard touchdown. The two-point attempt was foiled, but South Fulton was off to an early 6-0 lead.
South Fulton held that lead until early in the second quarter, when Moon ran it in from 12 yards out. The two-point attempt failed, locking the score at 6-6.
West Carroll scored two more times before the half. Moon added six on a two-yard keeper and then two more on the conversion midway through the second quarter, and then he did it again with 2:16 left in the first half, this time from 10 yards out. A conversion pass from Moon to Barrow set West Carroll’s halftime tally at 22-6.
The War Eagles made good on their opening possession in the third quarter on a 12-yard TD carry by Lee, followed by a successful PAT kick by Dakota Saunders, upping West Carroll’s lead to 29-6.
That score held to the end of the third quarter … just barely. On the very first play of the fourth quarter, Lee broke through for an 18-yard touchdown, and Saunders booted the extra point for a 36-6 West Carroll advantage.
But the Red Devils weren’t quite done yet as they scored midway through the fourth after pushing forward inside West Carroll’s one-yard line. The War Eagle defense stopped the conversion attempt, leaving West Carroll ahead by a factor of three, 36-12.
With 2:58 left in the game, Moon put the icing on the cake with a scoring keeper from two yards out, and Saunders added sprinkles with the extra point kick.
Now 5-3 overall and 3-2 in the region, the War Eagles conclude the regular season with a regional home-field contest against Greenfield Friday night.
