Andrew Plante is stopped short of the goal line by the Greenwood defense. (Photo/Ross Burton)
Greenwood-16, Westwood-0
BLYTHEWOOD – On the heels of the program’s first ever Class 4A playoff win last week, the Westwood Redhawks suffered a letdown Friday night in front of their home crowd by a score of 16-0 to the Eagles of Greenwood.
Westwood head coach Rodney Summers wasn’t shocked his squad fell to Greenwood, but was disappointed his team was shutout.
“That (not scoring) was the shocker,” he said. “We knew all week long it was going to be tough though.”
Westwood hurt itself by committing four turnovers and Summers admitted after the game those mistakes made it a difficult road for his Redhawks.
“That was huge,” he emphasized. “You cannot turn the ball over against a quality football team like Greenwood and expect to win.”
In a game that was muddied with five first half turnovers from both teams, the Redhawks trailed 16-0 at the break, which would be all Greenwood would need to secure their berth in the upper-state championship.
Greenwood scored on the opening possession to take an early lead just 3 minutes into the contest. The Eagles manufactured a 7-play, 65-yard scoring drive that was capped with a 20-yard touchdown catch by Markeyvious Adams. Adams was streaking down the right sideline and hauled in the pass after it was tipped by a defender. Jack Pierce’s point-after was blocked, but the Eagles held a 6-0 advantage over the Redhawks.
After a string of punts, Greenwood was threatening again in the red zone when Westwood’s North/South All-Star selection Stephen Timmons intercepted a pass off a deflection.
However, Westwood’s new life was quickly snatched away three plays later when Nick Leveretter threw a pick-6. The game took a sharp turn in Greenwood’s favor when Matthew Green stepped in front of the Westwood receiver and returned it 30 yards to pay dirt.
With Greenwood leading 13-0 in the second quarter the Redhawks drove down to the Eagles’ 1-yard line on the ensuing drive, but Andrew Plante was stoned at the goal line on a fourth-and-goal play.
After the game, Summers said his squad just couldn’t overcome the fourth-and-goal stop.
“That drive and not scoring was critical,” he said. “That would have helped us momentum-wise and helped our morale.”
Just before half the Eagles added a 39-yard field goal after recovering a Leveretter fumble in Redhawk territory to go up 16-0.
With virtually no push generated by the Westwood offensive line, the Redhawks struggled to run the ball all night. At the half, Westwood only tallied 36 yards on the ground.
Summers attributed the lack of production to Greenwood’s scheme and Westwood’s inability to connect on passes down the field.
“The run game was not very good tonight,” he said. “But, we struggled hitting some of the short balls to make them be honest and get them out of the box. They packed the box and played man coverage and we just weren’t able to consistently beat the man coverage down the field.”
In the second half it was more of the same for Westwood. On their five possessions, the first three ended in a punt with the fourth ending on a turnover on downs and the fifth ending on an interception.
Despite being eliminated from the title race, Summers used the moment as a coaching opportunity to motivate his squad for the 2015-2016 season.
“It was disappointing, but we’ll learn from it,” he said. “We’ll try to get more balanced offensively next year.”
Westwood will return all their offensive lineman and running backs. Jalen Smith, who played meaningful minutes throughout the season, will be back at quarterback as well.
Greenwood will host York next week in the upper-state finals, with a chance to play for a state title on the line.
GW: 13-3-0-0 – 16
WW: 0-0-0-0 –0
Scoring
First Quarter
GW – Markeyvious Adams 20 pass from Roshun Jackskon (Jack Pierce kick fail). 9:20.
GW – C.J. Jackson 35 interception return (Jack Pierce kick). 0:34.
Second Quarter
GW – Jack Pierce 39 field goal. 0:15.
Team Stats
WHS GHS
First Downs 8 12
Rushes/Yards 26-64 43-161
Passing Yards 101 101
C-A-INT 5-20-3 8-14-1
Fumbles/Lost 1-1 0-0
Penalties/Yards 2-30 6-40
Third downs 2-11 6-16
Fourth downs 0-3 0-0
Individual Stats
RUSHING: GHS – Roshun Jackson 22-138, DJ Wright 13-19, CJ Jackson 8-4. WHS – Nick Leveretter 7-24, Jalen Smith 7-23, Andrew Plante 9-12, John Trapp 3-5.
RECEIVING: GHS – Markeyvious Adams 3-37, Sam Pickney 2-22, Jamir Watts 2-21, Kaleb Chambers 1-21. WHS – Adonus Lee 5-101.
PASSING: GHS – Roshun Jackson 8-14, 101 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT. WHS – Nick Leveretter 3-8, 71 yards, 2 INT. Jalen Adams 2-21, 30 yards, 1 INT.
