Lexington’s Alston Stewart (10 breaks up Jalen Smith’s pass to Malik Griffin (4). (Photo/Ross Burton)
BLYTHEWOOD – The Lexington Wildcats were firing on all cylinders Friday night, as they defeated the previously undefeated Redhawks by a score of 38-16. Westwood’s win-loss record now stands at 4-1.
Lexington was apparently well prepared to avenge last year’s loss at Wildcat stadium, and left little to chance. Lexington head coach Josh Stepp said his team had a great week of preparation.
“We still have some mistakes to clean up, but I’m telling you, to win at this level is very, very tough to do,” Stepp said before the kick. “Especially on the road against a quality team.”
Westwood head coach Rodney Summers knew Lexington would definitely be a big test for the team.
“They have got guys who are good and who can make plays,” Summers said. “They are very talented and can score with just about any play they run.”
Westwood received the kickoff and made some plays early but could not score on their first possession. It was the Wildcats who made better use of their scoring opportunities when Slade Carroll broke the plane from the 1-yard line to put up the first touchdown of the game with 5:28 to go in the first quarter.
Carroll struck again a few minutes later, again from one yard out to put the Redhawks two touchdowns behind.
Westwood rallied back when Rudy Mitchell ran the ball in from five yards out just after the first quarter ended. Unfortunately, Brandon Howard had a rare miss when the extra point kick went wide. Howard was able to redeem himself late in the second quarter by splitting the uprights with a successful field goal kick to make it 14-9.
However, the critical point in the game was about to play out. As halftime approached, Westwood was driving down the field, moving the chains steadily. When the Redhawks were within field goal range, they fumbled the ball and Lexington’s Dylan Cripe picked it up for the turnover. With 1:42 remaining in the half, Brandon Blake connected with Jayson Hopper who carried the ball nine yards for the touchdown. Westwood headed for the locker room trailing 21-9 with the momentum in Lexington’s favor.
Lexington would score once more in each of the remaining quarters; once with Blake throwing to receiver Jason Rumph in the third quarter and once with Carroll rushing.
Time and time again, the Redhawks would move the ball into the Lexington red zone, but would be halted by a turnover or a series of penalties, which would put them out of scoring range.
The Redhawks came back with a fourth quarter pick-six by Malik Horton who ran the ball back 50 yards for the touchdown. However, it was not enough to do much good, as there was too much of a deficit to make up and too little time left on the clock.
“Hats off to them for beating us,” Summers said. “We didn’t play Westwood football tonight. We will lick our wounds, fix some things and get ready for West Florence. The loss may be a good thing or a bad thing. It’s better than losing to one of the region teams we will play later.”
The Redhawks will tend to those wounds with a bye week this week, then prepare for a long haul to West Florence on Oct. 2.
LHS: 14-7-10-7 – 38
WHS: 0-9-0-7 – 16
Scoring
First Quarter
L – Slade Carroll 1 run (Christian Kinsley kick). 5:28.
L – S. Carroll 1 run (C. Kinsley kick). 2:37.
Second Quarter
W – Rudy Mitchell 5 run (kick failed). 11:39.
W – Brandon Howard 32 FG. 5:40.
L – Jayson Hopper 9 pass from Brandon Blake (C. Kinsley kick). 1:42.
Third Quarter
L – C. Kinsley 31 FG. 8:07.
L – Jason Rumph 8 pass from B. Blake (C. Kinsley kick). 4:24.
Fourth Quarter
L – S. Carroll 23 run (C. Kinsley kick). 9:22.
W – Alex Mabalot 50 INT return (Jonathan Dyarmett kick). 6:40.
Team Stats
LHS WHS
First Downs 18 16
Rushes/Yards 45-138 34-217
Passing Yards 202 99
C-A-I 15-24-1 11-23-0
Fumbles/Lost 0-0 2-2
Penalties/Yards 3-35 5-55
Individual Stats
RUSHING: L – Slade Carroll 31-112, Ervin Greene 13-40, Eric Ricker 1-2, Brandon Blake 2-(-11). W – Rudy Mitchell 13-103, Jalen Smith 15-60, Andrew Plante 5-33, Walyn Napper 3-38.
RECEIVING: L – Jayson Hopper 6-86, Tyler Schadewald 1-12, Oscar Ferguson 3-45, Daiquan Wells 3-38, Nick Graves 1-12, Jason Rumph 1-8. W – Monte Miller 9-78, Malik Griffin 2-26, Jaylen Robinson 1-5.
PASSING: L – Brandon Blake 16-24, 208 yards, 2 TD, INT; Jayson Hopper 0-1. W – Jalen Smith 11-23, 83 yards; Walyn Napper 1-1, 26 yards.
