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1B Thursday, November 14, 2013

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By Paul Keane

It was what many people might call a “stat game.”Wayne County High School closed out the 2013 regular

season by utilizing nine different running backs and hav-ing 32 different players record tackles in a bench-clearing 50-0 victory over South Jones Friday night.

The victory moved the War Eagles to 9-2 overall and a perfect 7-0 in District 3-5A action. WCHS will host a first-round playoff game against Gautier. The Braves of South Jones finished the year at 1-10 and 0-7.

“We were able to play a lot of people, and we didn’t get anyone hurt,” said Head Coach Todd Mangum. “This was a good way for us to end the regular season, as we got to get everyone some playing time.

“Now, though, we’ve got to get back to the grind and get ready for the playoffs. From here on out, we’re guaran-teed only one game so we need to get focused and ready for Gautier next week.”

The starters remained in the game for scant minutes, scoring a quick touchdown and forcing a safety before giving way to the younger players, especially freshman who had just been called up to the varsity this week.

After forcing a punt on the opening series of the game, it took the War Eagles only three plays before Elijah Pugh scored on a 9-yard run. The Brandon McCary kick made it 7-0 with 8:37 left in the opening stanza.

On the ensuing series, a bad snap on a punt forced the ball to be kicked out of the back of the end zone for a safety, opening up a 9-0 lead for the home team with 5:47 left in the period.

Tymdrick Parker intercepted a pass on the next series, returning it 35 yards to the the WCHS 37-yard line. Five plays later, Reggie Stewart hit Devante Ramey with a 5-yard pass, and the McCary kick made it 16-0 lead with 1:24 left in the quarter.

WCHS mounted one of its longer drives of the night early in the second quarter, marching 47 yards in 11 plays and 3:30 before Direkas Harris hauled in a 6-yard pass from Stewart. The McCary kick made it 23-0 with 8:15 left before the intermission.

On the very next play, Hunter James recovered a fumble at the South Jones 32-yard line. Two plays later, Chris Cooley scored on a 15-yard run to open up a 29-0 lead with 7:39 left in the period.

A three-and-out by the defense allowed the War Eagles to set up shop at their own 43-yard line. Four plays later, Cooley scored on a 13-yard run, and the McCary kick made it 36-0 with 4:49 remaining before halftime.

From there, the clock ran at a liberal pace, with a number of people coming in and out of the contest for the

War Eagles scalp Braves, 50-0WCHS rolls into playoffs

with bench-clearing victory

Paul Keane/The Wayne County NewsTyree Evans wraps up South Jones quarterback Ethan Laird before bringing him down for a tackle for loss during Friday night’s regular season finale between the Braves and War Eagles.See Rout, Page 2B

Paul Keane/The Wayne County NewsJabian Harris lunges to try and tackle South Jones’ Ethan Laird during Friday night’s game between WCHS and South Jones. The War Eagles’ defense harassed the Braves throughout the night, pitching a 50-0 shutout and forcing three turnovers.

Playoff picture clears up in wild final weekBy Paul Keane

The seedings for the Class 5A playoff came into clear focus after a final week of regular season games that featured some wild contests.

In Dis-trict 3-5A, West Jones and Laurel battled it out for the No. 2 seed in the play-offs, with the Golden Tornadoes coming away with a thrill 35-34 overtime win at home.

The gives LHS the No. 2 seed behind Wayne County High School, meaning Laurel will host Stone High Friday night in a first-round playoff game. The Mustangs will have to travel to Picayune for Friday’s first round.

In battle for the final playoff spot out of 3-5A, Brookhaven held off Pearl River Central, 25-20, to earn the No. 4 seed. The reward for

See Postseason, Page 2B

PlayoffPairings

First RoundNorth Bracket

Vicksburg at OxfordWest Point at Pearl

Ridgeland at ClarksdaleSaltillo at Callaway

South BracketGautier at WCHS

West Jones at PicayuneBrookhaven at Pascagoula

Stone at LaurelAll start times 7 p.m.

War Eagles open 2-0; Lady War Eagles split gamesWCN Staff Report

Wayne County High School’s varsity boys basketball team opened the season with a pair of wins while the Lady War Eagles split a pair of opening games this past week.

Both squads were back in action Tuesday night on the road against Richland. Results from those games were not available at press time. Both teams will now face Lawrence County on Saturday in the Quitman Classic before hosting Meridian on Tuesday night in the home opener.

The following are recaps of the games WCHS played in this past week:

BOYS ACTIONThe War Eagles opened the 2013-

14 season wtih a solid 70-33 victory over Perry Central on Thursday, Nov. 7.

Tevin Smith led the team with 12 points while Raekwon Gray added 10 and Derek Thompkins poured in nine points while pulling down nine rebounds.

On Saturday in the Petal Classic, WCHS topped Picayune by a 92-78 margin. Thompkins led the way with 28 points and 11 rebounds while Devin Paicely Smith contributed 24 points, 10 rebounds and five steals. Gray scored 13 while Kendarius Gandy added 11.

GIRLS ACTIONThe Lady War Eagles dropped

their season opener but rebounded with a victory on Saturday.

On Thursday, Nov. 7, WCHS fell See Hoops, Page 3B