VALDOSTA —
The Valwood Vailants improved to 8-0 with a crushing 48-18 win over the Westwood Wildcats Friday night at Goddard Field.
Senior night couldn’t have gone any better for the Valiants.
“We said since day one, we’ll go as far as they take us,” said Valwood head coach Ashley Henderson. “To me it’s icing on the cake for that senior bunch to go out and win a game like this in this type of fashion. Every senior contributed.”
The reigning region 2-IAA champions got off to a good start, taking the lead on their opening drive.
Valwood quarterback Jake Lastinger found receiver Marik Merine for an 18-yard completion that placed Vailants in scoring position.
Senior wide receiver Rashad Mathis caught a 25-yard pass in the corner of the end zone to cap off the 71-yard drive.
Following a missed two-point conversion, the Valiants went up 6-0 with less than two minutes into the contest.
After Westwood went three-and-out on their opening drive, Valwood drove and scored again.
This time it was a 20-yard rushing touchdown by senior Khary Paige. Valwood led 13-0.
After the teams swapped possession of the ball, the Warriors finally got their offense clicking, earning back-to-back first downs for the first time all night.
After Westwood senior quarterback Mitch Good completed a 17-yard pass to receiver Chason Worsham, running back JT Edore’s 9-yard run placed the Warriors near the goal line.
Then, Edore punched in for the 2-yard touchdown, cutting Valwood’s lead to 13-6.
Valwood’s lead remained through the remainder of the first half.
Paige rushed for 48 of his 131 rushing yards to start the second half drive, eluding defenders for a 36-yard TD run.
On the first play of Westwood’s ensuing drive, Good broke free for a 73-yard touchdown. Westwood wasn’t able to convert the two-point conversion and Valwood led 20-12 midway through the third quarter.
Towards the end of the quarter, Lastinger, who completed 9 of 10 passes, started showing he can do more than pass the ball when he scrambled 32 yards. That set up a 15-yard run on a reverse by Mathis, which put the Valiants near the goal line.
Mathis finished off the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run.
Westwood started the fourth quarter down by two possessions 27-12.
That’s the closest the Wildcats would get. Valwood dominated the fourth quarter.
Merine, who was quiet in the first half, tallied all three of his touchdowns in the final quarter to push the game out of reach.
His first TD run came on a 22-yard run.
He added two more scores in the final minutes of the game to finish with 121 yards on the night.
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Related Photos
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Valdwood School's Khary Paige (3) looks for running room as Westwood Wildcat defenders close in during first quarter action at Goddard Field Friday night. Paul Leavy
Discussion
Valwood remains perfect, beats Westwood
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