Tyrel Gallman (1) picks off a Lugoff-Elgin pass and races up field. (Photo/Ross Burton)
BLYTHEWOOD – The Westwood dream season continued at Richland 2 Stadium Friday night, as the Redhawks routed the Lugoff-Elgin Demons by a score of 49-7. The win extended the Redhawk winning streak to 7-0 overall and 1-0 in this 4A-Region IV gridiron contest.
“They run a Flex-bone offensive, like what Georgia Tech runs. It’s an option style offense where you have to play assignments,” Westwood head coach Rodney Summers said before the kick. “If we are in the right spots where we can make plays, we should be OK.”
In the early going, the Flex-bone zone-read seemed to be working well. After receiving the opening kickoff on their own 28 yard line, the Demons worked the ball steadily down field with no big plays, just grinding out the yardage on the ground.
L-E took a big risk early going for the fourth down conversion with 2 yards to go on the Westwood 40 yard line. Rahmel Burton crashed through the Redhawk defense, landing the ball on the Westwood 34 yard line for the first down.
The Demons continued their running success, but went for all the marbles on a pass intended for Andre Martin. Martin caught the ball, but fumbled. The ball was recovered by the Redhawk diminutive dynamo, Tyrell Gallman.
Neither the Redhawks nor the Demons could make much out of their respective possessions until Westwood caught a break when Josh Cooper picked off a Demon pass and ran it back 10 yards to the L-E 29. Despite a holding penalty, it only took Andrew Plante and the Redhawks four plays to draw first blood. One of those plays was a rare pass to Plante, which connected for 7 yards.
The Demon fumble woes continued as a brilliant Brandon Howard kickoff gave Lugoff-Elgin a long field, beginning on their own 8 yard line. L-E quarterback Gunnar Catoe kept the ball, but fumbled 2 yards back on his 6 yard line. He recovered the ball, but on the next play Andre Martin fumbled. This time L-E was not so lucky. The ball was recovered by Westwood’s Davon Wilson. It was then a simple matter of Plante dashing the mere 6 yards for the team’s second touchdown. Howard was perfect on the night in point-after kicks.
As the second quarter began, Lugoff-Elgin put on the last of their meaningful offensive drives. Catoe was replaced at the helm by Keyshawn Martin, and Catoe took on the receiver role. The team mixed the run with an occasional pass with success. They gained 50 yards in the air and 30 on the ground, earning five first downs along the way. Burton’s last reception put the Demons in the Westwood red zone, and Malik Lyles scored from the WHS 1 yard line. The touchdown and point-after was the only Demon damage of the night.
As halftime neared, receiver Adonus Lee took over the controls. It only took two pass receptions for a total of 54 yards to extend the Redhawk lead to 21-7 as the first-half clock ran out.
“Their offense is tough to stop,” Summers said at the break. “They are going to get theirs. We plan to continue to run our running backs and throw the ball some. Keep doing what we’re doing.”
The Redhawks took the second-half kickoff, but were forced to punt after a penalty put them too far back to move the chains. The Demons worked their way into Redhawk territory, but following four no-gainers in a row, were in a fourth-and-10 desperate situation. Feeling the game slipping away, L-E went for it, but the pass to Burton fell incomplete. With the short field in front of them, Westwood had the momentum, and Jalen Smith slipped across the goal line on a quarterback keeper.
Again on fourth down, with a net 5 yard loss to show for their possession, Lugoff-Elgin punted from way, way back, again giving Westwood the short field. Smith and Plante conspired to move the ball to the L-E 29 yard line. Smith then fired a 29-yarder to Montre Miller for the touchdown. Replacing Howard, Jonathon Dyarmett got some reps as kicker, and, like Howard was also perfect for the night.
Late in the game, John Trapp and Rudy Mitchell replaced Plante in the running back spot. On his first play in the game, Mitchell carried the ball 24 yards to the L-E 7 yard line. In response, the Redhawk crowd chanted “Rudy! Rudy! Rudy!” reminiscent of the football movie of the same name. Trapp finished off the drive with a 9-yard touchdown run. The final score of the game came with a couple of minutes to go, as Mitchell and Rashawn Green ran the ball well, setting up Powell, who wove past all defenders for 40 yards and the final TD.
After the game, Summers explained, “I told them in the locker room we weren’t playing with intensity, and it looked like we were just going through the motions. They stepped it up a bit in the second half.”
The next two Fridays in a row are at the Blythewood High School Stadium. Both are also Richland 2 rivalries. The Redhawks first meet Ridge View High School, and the following week, Blythewood.
L-E: 0-7-0-0 – 7
WHS: 14-7-14-14 – 49
Scoring
First Quarter
W – Andrew Plante 4 run (Brandon Howard kick). 2:14.
W – A. Plante 6 run (B. Howard kick). 1:12.
Second Quarter
LE – Malek Lyles 1 run (Greg Ruffner kick). 5:21.
W – Adonus Lee 35 pass from Nick Leveretter (B. Howard kick). 1:02.
Third Quarter
W – Jalen Smith 10 run (B. Howard kick). 4:23.
W – Montre Miller 29 pass from J. Smith (B. Howard kick). 0:35.
Fourth Quarter
W – John Trapp 9 run (Jonathan Dyarmett kick). 5:16.
W – Winslow Powell 40 run (J. Dyarmett kick). 0:40.
Team Stats
LE WHS
First Downs 12 19
Rushes/Yards 42-100 41-345
Passing Yards 90 83
C-A-INT 5-14-1 5-12-0
Fumbles/Lost 4-2 0-0
Penalties/Yards 4-36 6-60
Individual Stats
RUSHING: LE – Jermain Jenkins 9-55, Rahmel Burton 10-32, Aldrecio Wells 2-13, Gunnar Catoe 5-10, Andre Martin 7-8, Malek Lyles 1-1, Keyshawn Martin 8-(-19). WHS – Andrew Plante 16-121, John Trapp 7-66, Winslow Powell 4-58, Rudy Mitchell 4-47, Jalen Smith 6-34, Rashawn Green 2-14, Nick Leveretter 2-5.
RECEIVING: LE – Rahmel Burton 3-61, Elliott Campbell 1-22, Andre Martin 1-7. WHS – Adonus Lee 1-35, Montre Miller 2-33, Willie McConnel 1-8, Andrew Plante 1-7.
PASSING: LE – Keyshawn Martin 4-12, 83 yards; Gunnar Catoe 1-2, 7 yards, INT. WHS – Nick Leveretter 3-8, 50 yards, TD; Jalen Smith 2-4, 33 yards, TD.
