WILDCATS TOP BISHOPS IN OPENER

WAHS overcomes miscues to eek out 13-10 victory over Bishop England

Special to West Of

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Overall, it was a passing grade ... but just barely.

The West Ashley High School football team began the 2010 season with a 13-10 victory over Bishop England on the road Friday, Aug. 26, in a game that featured the usual opening night mistakes and miscues.

"I'd give us about a C-minus grade overall," said head coach Bobby Marion. "It was just a weird game, but we did just    WAHS Linebacker Donovan Bowman

enough to win."                               

In a game televised to the Lowcountry on WMMP, the Wildcats season didn't begin well, as Bishop England's Andrew Bunch took the opening kickoff and returned it 86 yards for a touchdown. One play, one 7-0 deficit.

Early on, it looked as if Bishop England's seven points would be enough, as WAHS struggled to move the ball. Not that they had it much - the Wildcats ran on only nine offensive plays in the first half, gaining a total of eight yards as the Bishops dominated the line of scrimmage.

"We got whipped up front," said Marion. "They just beat us up on the line all night, and that's obviously a concern."

The first WAHS points of the season came from the defense, when linebacker Donovan Bowman intercepted Mikell Fosberry's pass over the middle and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown. The Wildcats attempted a two-point conversion which failed, leaving Bishop England with a 7-6 lead late in the first quarter.

"Donovan did a great job of reading the play and watching (Fosberry's) eyes," said Marion. "He was in perfect position and took advantage of it."

When the ball went back to the Bishops and they seemed intent on keeping it for the rest of the half, launching a 20-play drive that ran out the first quarter continued to eat up much of the clock in the second quarter. The Bishops were successful with quick out pattern passes for key short gains on third down several times in the long series. But, the Wildcat defense responded once Bishop England got in the red zone and recorded a fourth down sack to stop the drive and keep the score at 7-6 at halftime.

Marion planned on using two quarterbacks in the game, with starter Thomas Woodhead being spelled by Karon Eady. But Bishop England's ability to completely neutralize the Wildcat option attack led to Woodhead playing the entire game.

"Karon's our best option quarterback and he'll get his chances, but we couldn't get anything done (with the option)," Marion said. "So we stayed with Woodhead, because he gives us a better chance with other aspects of the offense."

WAHS's offensive struggles continued in the second half, as Bishop England continued to dominate the line of scrimmage and stuff the Wildcats. The Bishops finished off another long drive (12 plays) late in the third quarter with a field goal to increase their lead to 10-6.

But one key play changed the game for the Wildcats. Early in the fourth quarter, Marion called for Woodhead to keep the ball on a quarterback sweep to the short side of the field. Taking advantage of several excellent blocks, Woodhead cut up the right sideline and raced 58 yards untouched for the score. Matt Stonaker's extra point made it 13-10.

"We knew they would run a (defensive) slant from that spot on the field, and we thought the QB sweep would work," said Marion. "They did slant, and we finally made some good blocks and Woodhead was gone."

The Wildcat defense secured the victory, shutting down Bishop England for the remainder of the fourth quarter. Marion was pleased with the overall effort of the defense, led by Bowman and fellow linebacker Nick Bosley.

On Friday, Sept. 3, the Wildcats host Lake Marion at 7:30 p.m. in their home opener, where WAHS will attempt to do a better job of establishing the option to take advantage of speedster running back Jared Mole. Also, the Wildcats will look to get the ball into the hands of standout tight end Donovan Burns more frequently.

"You have to give Bishop England credit, because their defense kept us from doing things we wanted to do," said Marion. "We also made some mistakes that kept the ball out of Donovan's hands when we wanted to run the Wildcat, so we've got a lot to work on.

"But, this is a game that we might have lost last year. We never quit and showed a lot of heart, and that's always encouraging."

Lake Marion features an athletic quarterback and two excellent wide receivers, so the Wildcat defense will again be tested.