Midway wins with balance on the field
Oct. 9—SPIVEY'S CORNER — The Midway Raiders defeated the West Bladen Knights for a 51-24 victory on Friday night in a SAC 6 clash. Senior quarterback Tripp Westbrook and junior running-back Cody Ammons were a 1-2-punch on the offensive side of the ball for the Raiders with seven touchdowns between them. Westbrook threw for 291 yards on 12-of-16 passing and bagged four touchdown passes in three quarters. Ammons brought physicality to the host run game and he scampered around the field for 127 yards on 25 carries.
The Knights were led by senior running-back Messyah Whitted with 119 yards on the ground after 22 touches and he scored a touchdown in the loss. West Bladen started the first quarter with the ball but possession quickly switched hands after sophomore quarterback Hunter Hester got his pass tipped at the line of scrimmage and Midway snatched an easy interception around midfield. Westbrook and the Midway offense capitalized on the first play with a 45 yard touchdown reception to take an early lead.
The Knights failed to respond after a negative drive resulted in a punt and the host reclaimed possession on their own 17-yard line. The Raiders gained eight yards on a pass play but went backwards due to a holding call which killed their momentum and their opponents defense was able to get off the field on fourth down. West Bladen's offense were held to negative yardage in their next possession and finished their drive behind the sticks after going 3-and-out.
The Raiders would go-on to block their opponents punt to set them up with great field possession on the 29-yard line. Ammons' would bullrush his way into the endzone to conclude a four play drive as the host went up 16-0 with 2:08 remaining in the first quarter. The Knights were able to find some rhythm on offense towards the end of the first quarter and found themselves starting the next quarter on their opponents end of the field.
Hester started the second quarter by connecting with junior wideout Hezekiah Adams coming down with a high arcing pass over the opposing DB's head and he managed to run for a nice gain after being brought down at the 9-yard line. Whitted finished the drive in the endzone and the Knights were able to convert the 2-point conversion to make the score 16-8. Midway immediately responded with Westbrook throwing his longest touchdown pass of the night to senior wideout Andre Gregory for an 83-yard touchdown reception. West Bladen converted on a 4th-and-2 situation after a big carry from Whitted kept their drive alive but disaster would strike a few moments later when another tipped pass fell to the hands of Midway.
Westbrook attempted to find a receiver deep down field but just missed his target by inches and the away team were able to hold them to 4th-and-4. The Raiders decided to keep their offense on the field for fourth down after two successive timeouts and the gamble paid off with Ammons picking up the four yards on a run around the edge.
Midway were able to march their way towards the redzone and Westbrook would cap the drive off by finding an open Ke'Mari McNeill in the back of the endzone with 2:33 remaining in the first half. The Knights and the Raiders were both able to get possession in the final minutes of the second quarter but neither team would find the endzone to conclude the first half at 32-8.
The Raiders would start the third quarter with the ball and they turned a long drive into six points after Ammons powered his way in for his second touchdown of the night. Midway were kicking squib kicks all night and their opponents took full advantage on the ensuing kickoff after senior Aaron Lewis returned the wobbly onside kick for a 50-yard return for a touchdown. Westbrook would connect with Gregory once more for a big gain that resulted in Gregory being brought down at the 2-yard line.
Ammonds would go-on to finish the drive in the back of the endzone as the Raiders extended their lead to 44-16 with 6:53 remaining in the third quarter. Hester went down injured before the end of the first half so the Knights had Adams in at quarterback to finish out the game in the second half. A negative drive resulted in a punt for the Knights but a bad snap allowed the Raiders to take over with a short field. Westbrook would eventually dump a pass off to tight-end Wyatt Herring for the touchdown pass and the host went up 51-16 after the extra point.
The threat of Adams running the ball was on the minds of Midway defenders and that allowed the run game to open up more for Whitted. He was able to carry the ball into the redzone to set-up the Knights with 1st-and-goal and junior running-back Justin Spaulding would come in to score the final touchdown of the night for his team.
The fourth quarter would end scoreless between the teams and Midway were able to claim the victory after taking a couple of knees in the dying seconds. The Raiders are now tied with Clinton and St. Pauls for the top spot in the conference standings. Midway will travel to Clinton for what could decide the conference for a pivotal clash in the season. The Knights have now moved to 0-2 in conference play and they have an overall record of 2-5.
They will host the St. Pauls Bulldogs next Friday for another SAC 6 conference clash on Week 9 of the season.
