Maybe the West Montgomery football team ought to consider playing more games on Friday the 13th bringing out their all-black uniforms. Hosting 10th seeded Bishop McGuinness in the opening round of the state 1AA playoffs, the seventh seeded Warriors once again used a punishing running attack and a strong defense, especially in the second half for a 34-21 victory. The win was the Warriors’ sixth straight opening round playoff victory.
With sophomore quarterback Jaquil Capel leading the way with a career-high 157 yards and two touchdowns, the Warriors set a new playoff rushing record with the team running for 432 yards. Capel wasn’t the only Warrior doing damage to the Villains’ defense as senior running back Landon Jordan scored two touchdowns while rushing for 131 yards. Junior Trevante Moore also went over the century mark running for 117 yards on four carries and scoring one touchdown. Jordan and Capel have now gone over the 1,000-yard rushing mark with Capel totaling 1,062 yards and 19 touchdowns while Jordan totals 1,010 yards and 16 touchdowns. This is the second consecutive game Moore has rushed for more than 100 yards in a contest.
Bishop McGuinness, a team that finished third in the Northwest 1A/2A Conference, came into the contest looking for their first-ever playoff victory with their best-ever team sporting a 9-2 record, while the Warriors were the second place team out of the Yadkin Valley Conference with an 8-3 mark.
“They’re (Bishop McGuinness) a tremendous football that is well coached,” said West coach John Pate. “Their offense was difficult to defend against and we were out weighted in the lines. The defense stepped up when it needed to. Our offensive line did a great job of blocking and we were able to have a good game on offense. Now we’ll get ready for a very good Monroe team and see what happens Friday.”
The Warriors didn’t waste any time going on the offensive, winning the coin toss and electing to receive the opening kickoff. The Warriors started their first drive at their 28-yard line. With Jordan doing most of the running, it took West only six plays to go the distance with Jordan racing the final 33 yards for the touchdown. Laquan Dennis booted the first of his four extra points, putting West up 7-0 with less than two minutes gone off the game clock.
The Warrior defense led by Joe Huntley held the Villains’ offense to three-and-out, forcing a punt that pinned the Warriors back on their 8-yard line. On the third play of the drive, Moore broke free down the home-team sidelines going 70 yards before a Villain defender knocked the ball loose and recoved the ball on the Villains’ 20-yard line. But the visitors coughed up the ball on their first offense play and senior linebacker Dylan Hurley recovered at Bishop’s 38-yard line.
Once again with Jordan doing the bulk of the running, the Warriors moved to the Villains’ 5-yard facing a fourth and goal situation. Warrior coach John Pate sent out the field goal unit, but an off sides penalty by the Villains moved the ball to the 3-yard line where Coach Pate decided to go for the touchdown with Jordan going the distance for his second touchdown. Dennis’ extra point attempt was good, putting the Warriors up 14-0 with 3:50 left in the first quarter.
Being down 14 points, the Villains’ old single-wing offense started to baffle the Warrior defense as they marched from their 35-yard line in four plays with Thomas Lawler going 46 yards for the touchdown and trimming the West lead to 14-7 with 1:47 left in the opening period.
The Warrior offense wasn’t to be stopped as they took the ensuing kickoff, starting their drive at their 21-yard line. With Moore, Jordan and Terry Pegues taking turns running the ball, West moved to the Villains’ 37-yard line where West faced a fourth down and three yards to go for a first down. Once again Coach Pate elected to go for the first down. Capel found an opening, picking up the first down and then finding his way to the end zone for the first of his two touchdowns. Dennis’ kick put the Warriors up 21-7 with 10:24 left in the first half.
Once again Bishop’s offense cranked up, starting on their 20-yard line and going 80 yards on 13 plays for the touchdown. Quarterback Josh Rathburn ran the final 10 yards for the touchdown, trimming the West lead to 21-14 with 3:15 left in the half.
The next Warrior offensive possession stalled, forcing the Warriors to punt for the only time in the game. After the punt, Bishop was once again on the move, but Marke Harris intercepted a Villain pass with less than two seconds left in the half.
Having rallied from being 14 points down and their offense on the move, the Villains seem to have seized the momentum coming out to start the second half. Taking the second half kickoff and starting a drive on their 30-yard line, Bishop was once again on the move, marching into Warrior territory before the West defenders stiffened, forcing a punt. A short Villain punt gave West possession on their 21-yard line.
The West offense went on the attack, driving 80 yards in 11 plays for the touchdown by Moore, who ran 15 yards for the score. Dennis’ boot gave West a 28-14 lead with 3:58 left in the third period.
With the 14-point cushion, the West defense held the Villains in check, not allowing any runs for more than seven yards in the second half. The longest gain for Bishop in the second half was a 35-yard pass completion in the fourth period with West holding the 14-point lead.
After the 35-yard pass completion, giving Bishop possession of the ball on the Warriors’ 29-yard line, West forced a fumble and Jake Gooch pounced on the ball on the 27-yard line. But the Warriors returned the favor on the next play and the Villains’ Marty DeFrancesco scooped up the ball racing 28 yards for his team’s only touchdown of the second half, trimming the West lead to 28-21 with 7:52 left in the game.
West got the ball on their 20-yard line and a holding penalty moved the ball back to the 9-yard line. Capel then found an opening, going 91 yards down the home-team sidelines for his second touchdown and taking the wind out of the Villains’ sails with 7:09 left in the game.
The Villains did mount one more drive, marching to West’s 22-yard line where they faced a fourth down and eight yards to go for the first down with 2:07 left in the game. A desperate pass towards the right side of the south end zone was broken up by Moore, preserving the Warrior 13-point victory.
“They (West) did a good job in the second half,” said Bishop coach Charlie Jones. “They’re a well coached team and Coach Pate and his staff do a great job. Their offensive line is one of the best we’ve seen coming off the ball. And their overall team speed is the best we’ve seen this year and that includes Mt. Airy, who has won 30 straight games.”
The Warriors travel to number two seed and undefeated Monroe Friday for their second round game. The Red Hawks defeated Cherryville 48-17 in their first round match-up. The game is scheduled to kick off at 7:30 p.m.
