How Westside football got top receiver Josh Williams going in win over T.L. Hanna
Westside needed more plays for the playmaker.
When Rams wide receiver Josh Williams and quarterback Cutter Woods went back and looked at the previous week’s loss that opened their high school football season, they both came to the same conclusion.
Williams needed more touches.
Problem solved. He scored three touchdowns in the first half Friday night and converted crucial third-down situations at the end to help Westside take a 42-30 win against rival T.L. Hanna in the Rams’ home opener.
"We lost that first game (43-28 at Belton-Honea Path) and I think Josh only had four or five targets,” Woods said. “We were like, ‘That’s got to change.’ Josh is our best receiver. We had to get him the ball more.”
T.L. Hanna (2-1) came in this week ranked No. 2 in the 864 Huddle Super 25 list of top teams in the Upstate, while Westside (1-1) was No. 13. In the statewide media poll, T.L. Hanna was No. 5 in Class AAAAA.
Williams was going to pair with fellow senior standout receiver Jimmar Boston to give Westside one of the most potent combos in the Upstate. But Boston suffered a thumb injury in the preseason. He’s playing some defensive back with his left hand wrapped like a club.
“It would be difficult for him to catch a ball right now,” Westside coach Brian Lane said. “But Josh Williams is a ball player, too. We’ve got a bunch of them.”
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Williams had first-half touchdown catches of 22, 32 and 13 yards on throws from Woods as Westside took a 28-21 lead into the break.
“The communication between us was a little lacking against BHP,” Williams said. “We weren’t on the same page like we should be. But we got back in the lab and we fixed that.”
When the Rams needed a third-down conversion, they went to Williams. None was bigger than a third-and-9 from the T.L. Hanna 40-yard line with about five minutes remaining and a 35-23 lead. Westside needed to keep that clock ticking down.
“I just want to keep the drives going,” Williams said. “The big play will come later.”
He caught a short pass and weaved his way for an 11-yard gain. To finish the knockout 80-yard drive, running back Dee Robertson pushed from the 1 for his third TD.
“When we need something, we go to Josh,” Woods said. “He’s our dude. He did his thing tonight.”
This article originally appeared on Herald-Journal: South Carolina high school football: How Westside beat T.L. Hanna
