Gators score in all three phases fueling 55-7 slaughter
Ware County head coach Jason Strickland had figured before Friday night’s season-opening non-region game visting Appling County would operate from about every offensive set except one with five receivers.
He was spot on. The sixth-ranked Class AA Pirates offered the wing-T, double-wing, shotgun with two backs and some times one. Their wildcat set had two and sometimes three players just a yard behind the line of scrimmage as extra blockers for the quarterback.
And all were effective as the Appling County dominated the clock in the first half for 19 minutes, 24 seconds and totaled 164 yards on 28 plays. But once the No. 8 Class AAAA Gators’ defense refocused eyes on the right backfield action, the second half was a different story.
With the Pirates offense never getting out of first gear, the Gators cruised to a 55-7 mercy-rule victory in Memorial Stadium.
“We felt they were going to run the ball, milk the clock and limit possessions and they did that magically in the first half,” Strickland said. “We got to halftime and got our guys settled and refocused about eye discipline.”
Appling managed just 80 yards in the second half with 54 coming on its final possession to end the game. Ware, which led 127 at halftime, fueled the rout with a 29-point third period that included a special teams score to bring on the running clock in the final quarter.
The Gators’ big-play offense rolled to 401 yards with 192 coming on the ground. Ten of Ware’s 16 runs were for 10 yards or more. There were no negative plays. The offensive unit faced third down only once, converting it.
“That group up front has a lot of snaps under their belts,” Strickland
YARDSTIICK
Appling County 0 7 0 0 - 7 Ware County 6 6 29 14 - 55 SCORING SUMMARY First Quarter WCHS - Tayshaun Franklin 75 run (kick failed), 7:24
Second Quarter ACHS - Jaiden Knight 4 run (Adam Ramirez kick), 11:54 WCHS - Jamir. Boyd 34 run (kick failed), 9:20 Third Quarter WCHS - Franklin 38 run (Boyd run), 10:25 WCHS - Franklin 28 run (kick failed), 6:39 WCHS - Collin Watson fumble recovery in end zone (Boyd run), 4:52 WCHS - Ja’Londi O’Hara 38 pass from Isaiah White (Gonzalez kick), 2:02 Fourth Quarter WCHS - Ja’Mario Rice 29 run (Gonzalez kick), 10:35 WCHS - Rod Lewis 27 fumble return (Gonzalez kick), 7:18 ACHS WCHS First downs 15 16 Rushes-yards 54-196 16-292 Passing yards 50 109 Total yards 246 401 Comp-Att-Int 2-3-0 5-10-0 Punts-Avg 2-35.5 0-0 Fumbles-lost 4-2 2-1 Penalties 3-26 4-40 3rd Down Con. 4-of-11 1-of-1 4th Down Con. 1-of-3 0-of-0 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING – ACHS: Knight 21-89, Wallace 5-34, Hood 5-19, Pool 416, Mickens 7-14, Norris 1-8, George 2-5, Courson 1-5, Crayton 6-3, Harrell 2-2. WCHS: Franklin 6-149, Boyd 8-103, Rice 1-29, McKoy 1-12.
PASSING – ACHS: Howard 1-1-0 49, Forsyth 1-2-0 1. WCHS: White 5-10-0 109.
RECEIVING — ACHS: Hood 1-49, Wallace 1-1. WCHS: Rice 3-61, O’Hara 1-38, Fore 1-10.
said of the senior-laden line. “They’re big, strong nasty, and take pride in the run game and it showed.”
Senior running back Tayshaun Franklin led the rushing and scoring with 149 yards on six carries and touchdowns on runs of 75, 35 and 28 yards, respectively. Classmate R.J. Boyd added 108 yards and a touchdown on eight carries along with a pair of two-point conversion runs.
Receiver Ja’Mario Rice added a touchdown on a 29-yard jet sweep while Ja’Londi O’Hara had the other offensive touchdown on a 38-yard pass from Isaiah White. Collin Watson recovered a bad punt snap in the end zone for a special teams score and Rod Lewis finished the Gators onslaught by returning a fumble 27 yards for a defensive touchdown. Jeffrey Gonzalez added three conversion kicks.
Jaden Knight, who led the Pirates in rushing with 89 yards on 21 carries, scored on a four-yard run, and Alan Ramirez added the kick for the visitors’ points.
Appling County got one first down with the opening kickoff before a bad snap on the second play after the first down put them behind the chains leading to a punt from their 38.
Jah Evans bobbled the kick near the 30, and it squirted loose finally being recovered by the Gators at their 25. Franklin covered the distance on the first play, going untouched over the right side and speeding through the secondary for a 6-0 lead with 7:24 left in the first quarter. Gonzales was wide with the conversion kick.
“The guys up front had the blocked perfectly,” Strickland said. “Remember that guy was a tight end last year trying to play running back. He was in transition last year, but’s he’s a runner now.”
Appling County countered with its best drive of the night to take the lead. The Pirates moved 80 yards in 12 running plays capped by Knight’s threeyarder on the first play of the second quarter. The extra point by Ramirez gave the visitors their only lead of the night at 7-6 with 11:54 left in the first half.
“We let our eyes get the best of us there,” Strickland said of the lengthy drive. “We had to refocus.”
Along the way, the Pirates, who operated from multiple formations to fuel the drive, collected five first downs, sapped 7:30 off the clock and were aided when a horse-collar tackle wiped out a sevenyard sack.
The advantage was short-lived as the Gators went 73 yards in seven plays with the ensuing kickoff to take the lead for good on the 34-yard run by Boyd with 9:20 left in the half. Holder Ryland Gilbert couldn’t handle a poor snap and the conversion attempt failed to make it 12-7.
Appling County threatened on the following possession, moving from its nine-yard line to the Gators’ nine for a first down. The big play of the march was a 49-yard wingback pass from Mikel Crayton to Cameron George on a third-and-3 play from the Pirates’ 30.
However, after getting five yards on first down, Appling County lost a yard on a high snap in the wildcat formation, then had a touchdown called back on a holding penalty.
Facing third-and-goal at the 11, Dareon Hood managed just three yards. That brought on Ramirez, who was wide right with a 24-yard field goal attempt with 1:24 left in the half.
“That stop was huge,” Strickland said. “A big tip of the cap to our defense. They (Pirates) get anything and they have a lot of momentum.”
The Gators moved from their 20 to a first down at the Appling County 32 before time ran out. It appeared they had a touchdown on a second down play from the Pirates’ 44, but Rice was ruled out of bounds at the goal line on a catch over three defenders.
It took only three plays after the second half kickoff for the Gators to get started on the 29-point third quarter onslaught bringing on the running clock in the final period. Franklin again went untouched off the right side from 38 yards and Boyd added the two-point conversion run for a 20-7 lead with just 1:35 gone in the half.
After stopping the Appling County for no gain on a fourth-and-two run at its 47, Franklin was in the end zone again just two plays later. After Boyd rambled for 21 yards on first down, Franklin covered the remaining 28 yards over the left side. The extra point try failed for a 26-7 cushion with 6:39 left in the quarter.
Ware County stuffed three Pirates’ runs for no gain after the kickoff bringing on Ramirez to punt. However, the snap sailed over his head, and Collin Watson recovered in the end zone for the touchdown. Boyd tacked on the conversion run with 4:52 to make it 347.
After forcing another punt, White and O’Hara made their scoring connection on first down from the Appling County 38. On a rollout to the right, the junior quarterback found his classmate alone across the middle around the 20. O’Hara headed for the sidelines where he bulled over the final defender at about the three to score with 2:02 left in the period.
Gonzales was good with the conversion kick for a 41-7 lead.
Facing a fourth-andtwo play at their own 28 on the first play of the fourth quarter, the Pirates managed just a yard.
On the ensuing Ware County snap, Rice took a jet sweep around right end and appeared to be down after about 10 yards. However, he actually rolled over a defender and kept running to finish the 29yard play with 10:35 left in the game. Gonzalez added the conversion kick to make it 48-7.
The Gators’ defense got into the act when Knight was stripped of the ball on a run, and Lewis picked up the bobble and raced home for the touchdown with 7:38 remaining. Gonzalez added the kick to set the final score.
