The West Carroll High School War Eagles picked up an on-the-road win Friday night as they doubled the hosting Gibson County Pioneers 14-7.
After a scoreless first quarter for both teams, the War Eagles made the first mark on the scoreboard early in the second on a 45-yard touchdown pass play from quarterback Xander Moon to Jacob Blankenship. Moon put it in for two, and West Carroll was off to an 8-0 lead.
The War Eagles scored again later in the second on another toss from Moon to Blankenship, this time for 75-yards, for six. The two-point attempt failed, but West Carroll was up 14-0 at the half.
The Pioneers, however, did not go down without a fight, scoring on their opening possession in the third quarter with a 27-yard touchdown pass. The following kick was good, and Gibson County had closed half the gap at 14-7.
But that was as close as they would get as the rest of the third and fourth quarters ticked by without additional points from either team.
West Carroll’s Tylor Smith delivered a crucial stop late in the fourth quarter, bringing down a Gibson County runner at his own three-yard line on a fourth down. From there, it was just a matter of running out the clock.
Overall, West Carroll head coach Josh Wolfe said he was pleased with his team’s performance Friday night, though he added that they did miss a few scoring opportunities during the game, including some turnovers due to fumbles.
“We kind of stopped ourselves there, and we’ve got some stuff to clean up,” said Wolfe. “But I was glad to see us win a close game.”
Now 3-2 for the season, the War Eagles were scheduled to have an open week this week, but, according to Wolfe, they may end up substituting to play Houston County Friday night. If that pans out, they will take next week off instead.
