BATESBURG – Friday the 13th proved to be truly unlucky for the Richard Winn Academy Eagles, as they suffered a hard 58-38 loss on the road to the W.W. King Academy Knights.
The Knights won the toss and elected to receive the ball and Blake Sauls took the next 11 seconds of the game to drive it 85 yards to the goal line for the score. Price Carpenter added the 2-point conversion and the score was 8-0.
On their next possession, the Knights continued to hammer the nail into the Eagles’ coffin, getting a strong return into Eagle territory, setting up a run from the Eagle 10 by Carpenter for the TD with 8:25 left on the clock. The Eagle defense blocked the 2-point conversion pass and the score was 16-0.
The Eagle’s next drive was stopped cold when Matt Taylor’s pass was intercepted by Patrick Corley for the Knights at the RWA 5-yard line. Wyatt McDonald ran the ball in for the Knights, but the Eagle defense stopped the 2-point conversion to make the score 22-0.
Following an Eagle punt, the Knights started at their own 41-yard line and put together a drive that was capped by a Jonathan Griffith run from the RWA 38 for the score. Berry’s pass for the 2-pointer was complete to Caleb Fulmer and the score was 30-0 with a scant 2:42 on the clock in the first quarter.
The Eagles got their first chance to score in the second quarter when they took over on downs from their own 45-yard line and put together a drive that featured good runs from Austin Knox and John Coleman, and a pass from Taylor to Mitchell Gibbons for 11 yards to the Knight 29-yard line. Taylor ran a quarterback keeper for 19 yards and set up a first-and-goal situation from the King 1-yard line. Two attempts later, Knox powered his way across the goal line for the touchdown and then made the 2-point conversion. With 4:59 left in the half, the Eagles were on the board, 30-8.
The Knights wasted no time answering back with a drive that saw Griffith dive in for the score from the Richard Winn 2 with 1:43 on the clock. The Eagle D stiffened at the line of scrimmage and stopped the 2-point conversion and the score was 36-8.
It looked like time might be running out for the Eagles to do anything else the first half, but they never fail to surprise as the offense put together a drive that carried the ball to their own 40 and from there, with 15 seconds left to play in the half, Webb Yongue fired a pass 60 yards to Coleman for the score. Coleman then ran the ball in for the 2-pointer and the Knight lead narrowed to 20 points, with a 36-16 score.
The second half opened with a flurry of penalties and when the dust had settled, the Knights found themselves in the possession of a do-over, a repeated first down and the ball at the Richard Winn 47. This second chance ruling infuriated the fans and seemed to inspire the Richard Winn defense for a time, as the Eagles momentarily stopped a Knight advance, but they were unable to halt the score when Carpenter went in for the TD from the Richard Winn 37. A Berry-to-Sauls pass added the 2 points and with 9:03 in the third quarter, the Knights lead grew to 44-16.
The Eagles answered quickly, with Taylor finding Coleman on a 62-yard touchdown pass. The 2-point conversion was stopped and the score was 44-22.
The Knights answered in turn, setting up a drive that ended with Sauls blazing in from the King 37 for the score. McDonald added the 2 points and the score was 52-22 with 7:08 on the clock.
On their next possession, the Eagles started at their own 34 and began a scoring drive that was topped off with a Coleman run from the Knight 14-yard line. Coleman also contributed the biggest play of that drive, a 17-yard run from the King 42 to the 25. Taylor called his own number for the 2-pointer and the score was 52-30 with 2:42 left in the quarter.
The Knights’ next series lasted into the end of the third quarter and the beginning of the fourth, a 20-play, 82-yard drive that started at their 18 and was helped along the way by two Eagle penalties that gave the Knights some extra yardage. The drive ended with an Alex Berry 1-yard run with 6:44 on the clock. Berry fumbled the ball on the 2-point attempt and the score was 58-30.
The Eagles would put their final points on the board as a result of a drive from their own 20-yard line. Knox found Coleman down field, connecting with a 49-yard touchdown pass, then he powered in the ball for the 2-point conversion.
Eagles’ head coach Dickerson said the team played well in the second half, but made too many mistakes against the Knights in the first half.
This week the Eagles travel to Clarendon Hall to take on the Saints. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m.
WWK 30-6-16-6 — 58
RWA 0-16-14-8 — 38
First Quarter
WWK – Blake Sauls 85-run. Price Carpenter 2-run. (11:49)
WWK – P. Carpenter 10-run. Sauls 2-pass from Alex Berry. (8:25)
WWK – Wyatt McDonald 5-run. PAT failed. (6:38)
WWK – Jonathan Griffith 62-run. Caleb Fulmer 2-pass from Berry (2:40)
Second Quarter
RWA – Austin Knox 2-run. Knox 2-run. (4:59)
WWK –Griffith 2-run. PAT failed. (1:43)
RWA – John Coleman 60-pass from Webb Yongue. Coleman 2-run. (0:15)
Third Quarter
WWK – P. Carpenter 37-run. Sauls 2-pass from Berry. (9:03)
RWA – John Coleman 62-pass from Matt Taylor. Two point failed. (7:25)
WWK –Sauls 63-run. McDonald 2-run. (7:08)
RWA –Coleman 14-run. Matt Taylor 2-run. (2:42)
Fourth Quarter
WWK –Berry 1-run. PAT failed. (6:44)
RWA –Coleman 49-pass from Knox. Knox 2-run. (3:38)
RWA WWK
First Downs 10 15
Rushes/Yards 42-135 36-361
Passing Yards 213 22
C-A-Int-TD 7-11-0-3 3-11-0-0
Fumbles/Lost 3-1 1-0
Rushing: RWA – John Coleman 11-65, H. Gibbons 1-1, Matt Taylor 14-45, Austin Knox 11-26, Webb Yongue 3-2.
Receiving: RWA – A. Knox 1-8, W. Yongue 1-2, M. Gibbons 5-12, J. Coleman 5-191.
Passing: RWA – M. Taylor 5-9, 103 yards, 1 INT, 1 TD. A. Knox 1-1, 50 yards, 1 TD. W. Yongue 1-1, 60 yards, 1 TD.