EVANS — Ware County maintained its share of the lead in Region 1AAAA here Friday night with a 28-6 victory against Evans High.
The win October 9, was the fourth straight overall and in the region for the Gators (5-2 overall, 4-0 region). Ware County is tied with sixth-ranked Benedictine, also 4-0, entering a region-wide open date with three games remaining in the regular season.
“This is a playoff run right now,” said WCHS head coach Jason Strickland after the win, which came after a host of players had battled the flu during the week and twoway standout Ma’Siyer “MooMoo” McKoy was limited to only defense because of a suspect ankle.
Ware County received contributions from around the roster, including two players — senior Ja’Qavius Owens and freshman Mehki Porter — who tallied the first touchdowns of their Gator careers.
“It was a group effort,” said Strickland, whose team faces Jenkins, Wayne County and Benedictine to finish after this week’s break.
Quarterback Isaiah White and running back De’Shavius Gibson accounted for the other Ware County touchdowns while kicker Jeffrey Gonzalez was perfect on four extra points. White was six-for-seven passing for 102 yards and added 20 yards rushing, including an 11-yard touchdown.
Sophomore Jimmy Taylor led the Gators in rushing with 109 yards on 13 carries while Gibson, a junior filling in for McKoy, totaled 60 yards on 10 runs, including one for a two-yard touchdown.
Brycen Gault was the main offensive threat for the Knights (3-4, 1-3) with 86 yards on 13 carries and their lone touchdown. Quarterback Grant Deal was 10-of-12 passing for 100 yards.
Ware County scored all the points it needed in the first quarter after Evans won the toss, but was stopped at its 41 following two first downs. A high snap on fourth down led punter Nicholas Farmer to get off a punt that went higher than it did long before finally being downed at the visitor’s 45.
A high snap to White in the pistol formation cost the Gators nine yards, but they quickly recovered. White picked up seven on a keeper, and on thirdand 13, the senior quarterback connected with classmate Lavon Lawson on a 53-yard pass for first down at the Evans’ five.
Gibson covered that distance in two runs, the last one with 5:23 left in the quarter for a 7-0 lead after the Gonzalez kick.
Ware County attempted an onside kick, but the Knights recovered at their 42. Evans got one first down at midfield before Gault bobbled a handoff against a run blitz by the Gators leading to a fumble. Owens picked up the loose pigskin and scooted 53 yards for the touchdown and a 14-0 lead on the Gonzalez extra point with 3:40 left in the period.
“He’s been doing enough the last couple of weeks to start earning some more time in there,” Strickland said of the linebacker. “I told him he was going to make a big play.”
Evans appeared to have negated the score when Saintwain Roberts returned the ensuing kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown. However, an illegal block early in the return brought it back for a first down at the Knights’ 14.
Ware County had two chances in the second quarter to stretch the cushion, but came up empty both times when stopped inside the Evans’ one. One came on fourth down while the other came on a third down as the first-half clock ran out.
Taking over at its 28 after forcing a punt, the Gators moved to a first down at the Evans’ 11 with the help of a 22-yard pass from White to Ja’Londi O’Hara and 44 combined rushing yards from Taylor and Gibson. On first down, tight end Elon Jones had White’s pass in the end zone go off his hands before Taylor picked up eight yards on second down.
Taylor tried again on third down, but was stacked up for no gain to bring up fourth-and-two from the three. The Gators handed the ball to O’Hara on a jet sweep, but just as he was cutting for the end zone, he lost control of the ball and went down just short of gaining the first down at the one with 6:39 left in the half.
Ware County forced another punt with Davion Jones returning it 35 yards to the Evans’ eight only to have it brought back to first down at the 23 for an illegal block inside the three-minute mark.
After White hit O’Hara with a 10-yard pass for a first down, the Gators had a false start before Gibson ran for four and 10 yards and a first down just outside the goal line. On first down, Gibson slipped on the wet artificial surface trying to make a cut and lost three yards leading to a timeout with 29.6 seconds left.
After the timeout, White hit Jones to get those yards back for third-and-goal at the one leading to both teams calling time out consecutively with 18.5 seconds left. With no timeouts left, Ware County tried a pass from White to O’Hara in the flat, but the Knights stopped him just outside the end zone to end the half leaving the score at 14-0.
Ware County sealed the issue after recovering the Knights’ onside attempt at its own 41 to start the third quarter. The Gators covered the distance in seven plays with White capping the drive when he faked to Taylor into the line and kept the ball to go 11 yards around end aided by blocks from LeTarrian Hayes and O’Hara. Another extra point from Gonzalez made it 21-0 just four minutes into the second half.
The Knights responded with their only points of the night on the ensuing drive. Taking over at their own 24, they needed eight plays and a facemask penalty on the Gators to get the touchdown.
Gault gained 52 of the drive’s 76 yards, the final 18 going for the touchdown with 3:20 left in the period that cut the deficit to 21-6 after Farmer’s extra point try was blocked.
The Gators added insurance points midway through the final quarter when Porter cruised in from eight yards on a jet sweep. His run was the last of a five-play possession in which Taylor ran the first four to pick up the drive’s other 50 yards.
The fleet freshman, who has started in the secondary all season, joined Taylor and Gibson with McKoy limited. Porter responded with 34 yards and the score on just four carries.
“We (coaches) told Porter ‘MooMoo’ wasn’t going to be available on offense,” Strickland said. “We grabbed him there late and said, ‘Isaiah will tell you what to do.’ He’s special.”
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