Keenan’s James Bass (40) jars Andrew Plante’s head gear loose Friday night, but it was Plante who delivered most of the punishment on the night with 170 rushing yards and a pair of TDs in Westwood’s 35-6 victory. (Photo/Ross Burton)
BLYTHEWOOD – The Raiders of Keenan High School and the Redhawks came to the Richland District 2 Stadium undefeated through their first three games of the season. One team, however, was destined to leave with their first loss of the season. Happily for Westwood, it was the Raiders who got on the team bus, suffering from a 35-6 loss.
The first quarter was largely a show of Westwood running back Andrew Plante’s rushing skills, although some quarterback keepers and a handoff or two to John Trapp kept the Raiders guessing. Westwood took the kickoff, and eight plays later Plante crossed the goal line for the touchdown. Six of the eight plays were carries by Plante. Brandon Howard’s point after kick was good, putting the Redhawks up 7-0 early in the first quarter. The Raiders began their opening drive on their 20-yard line and managed to work the ball gradually to the Westwood 15, where they faced a fourth-and-10 situation. The Westwood defense was on it, and Anthony Douglas broke up the conversion pass, giving Westwood the ball on downs.
Westwood’s first possession of the second quarter was a carbon copy of the previous scoring drive with Plante doing much of the heavy lifting, combined with a keeper or two and some running plays by Trapp. Trapp carried the ball in from the Keenan 3 for the second Redhawk touchdown. Keenan went three and out on the following possession, and punted terribly into the arms of Tyrell Gallman only 30 yards for the point of the punt. Gallman, who was having a great night, returned the ball 22 yards to the Keenan 34-yard line.
Thanks again to Plante and quarterback Jalen Smith, it only took three plays for the Redhawks to score again. The team, which was already helped by a short field, was the beneficiary of a Raider personal foul penalty. The ball was spotted on the Keenan 11, making it an easy score for the Redhawks. Howard’s kick again was good, making the score 21-0 Westwood.
As the half was drawing to a close, Keenan found them selves in a difficult situation. They were at mid-field on fourth down and 6 with a minute and a half to go in the half. D’Marco Zeigler’s pass was again broken up by Douglas, turning the ball over to Westwood with 1:28 to go in the half. That set Plante up for his longest run of the night, sneaking past Keenan’s defenders for 35 yards and the first down. Plante later scored from the Keenan 2-yard line, making the score 28-zip Westwood.
With 0:46 to go in the half, it was more bad news for the Raiders. What looked like a 96-yard kickoff return by Kendrick Gaithers was called back after a yellow flag. To make matters worse, Zeigler fumbled and lost the ball to Redhawk Bradley Carter. With six seconds to go, Howard attempted a field goal from 32 yards out, but the kick was blocked by Gaithers.
The Raiders received the second-half kickoff but got nowhere against the Redhawk defense. Gallman continued his big night by returning the Raider punt 28 yards into Keenan territory. Westwood quarterback Nick Leveretter took to the air for a few plays in their next possession for 40 yards, setting up Plante for the final touchdown of the game for the Redhawks. The score stood 35-0, looking for all intents and purposes like another shutout.
“We tried to work on some things in the second half, and we still have some things to work on,” Westwood head coach Rodney Summers said. “We had a good running game throughout.”
Another dismal possession ensued for Keenan, which included a false start penalty, an incomplete pass, a sack of Zeigler by Isaiah Johnson and finally an interception by Gallman who returned it 20 yards to the Keenan 40. The drive ended with a 34-yard field goal attempt by Howard, which sailed left of the goal post.
The Westwood shutout was thwarted by a pass from Zeigler, intended for Gaithers. The pass was short of Gaithers, but due to an interception attempt by Westwood, the ball was tipped by the Redhawk player, right into the arms of Gaithers who ran it 61 yards to the Westwood 5-yard line. Two plays later, Tyrieck Davis-Newton scored for the Raiders. Zeigler kept the ball for the 2-point conversion, but as stopped short of the goal line.
“We deserved a shutout,” Summers said. “They wouldn’t have a scored if we didn’t tip the ball, but those things are going to happen.”
The 4-0 Redhawks travel to Lexington this Friday to take on the Wildcats (1-2), who lost a close one last week to Wando, 25-23.
K: 0-0-6-0 – 6
W: 7-21-7-0 – 35
Scoring
First Quarter
W – Andrew Plante 6 run. Brandon Howard kick. (9:04)
Second Quarter
W – John Trapp 3 run. B. Howard kick. (7:35)
W – Jalen Smith 11 run. B. Howard kick. (5:52)
W – A. Plante 2 run. B. Howard kick. (0:46)
Third Quarter
W – Nick Leveretter 5 run. B. Howard kick. (8:27)
K – Tyrieck Davis-Newton 2 run. Run failed. (2:02)
Team Stats
KHS WHS
First Downs 11 21
Rushes/Yards 43-57 53-292
Passing Yards 97 78
C-A-INT 4-18-1 6-17-0
Fumbles/Lost 2-0 4-0
Penalties/Yards 8-60 9-88
Individual Stats
RUSHING: KHS – Tyrieck Davis-Newton 14-37, Thaddeus Peterson 4-15, Kendric Gathers 4-14, Tarik Williams 1-4, Jalon Wilson 1-1, Tyreke Ashford 1-0, Deion Trezevant 5-(-3), D’Marco Zeigler 13-(-11). WHS – Andrew Plante 26-170, John Trapp 9-39, Nick Leveretter 5-30, Jalen Smith 10-26, Devon Preston 2-19, Rudy Mitchell 1-8.
RECEIVING: KHS – Kendric Gathers 3-95, Rodrick Jones 1-2. WHS – Adonus Lee 2-24, Bruce Temple 1-17, Willie McConnel 1-15, Diamond Williams 1-12, John Trapp 1-10.
PASSING: KHS – D’Marco Zeigler 2-14, 78 yards, INT; Deion Trezevant 2-4, 19 yards. WHS – Jalen Smith 4-9, 51 yards; Nick Leveretter 2-8, 27 yards.