Anderson County beats Wellsville

WELLSVILLE — When two great horses with different racing styles face off in a big stakes race, the race often ends in great duel down the stretch.

The speed horse will shoot out of the gate and establish a big lead, but as the race enters the home stretch, its fresher challenger slowly will reel in the leader. Friday night, the speed horse managed to hang on for a win.

The Anderson County Bulldogs built 28-6 lead in the first half and hung on as the Wellsville Eagles narrowed the final score to 35-26.

“We should have scored more in the first half. We should have scored once more before the clock ran out,” Bulldogs coach Don Hilliard said.

“Studying the tape, we knew that they were a very good second half team, and I wasn’t feeling too comfortable despite the lead we had built,” he said. “I didn’t want a missed opportunity to come back and bite us.”

Things certainly were working for the Bulldogs early on. They forced an Eagle fumble on the third play of the game, and when they fumbled the ball back, it looked like they failed to take advantage. The Eagles, however, seemed determined to help out the visitors, fumbling again on the very next play.

This time the Bulldogs would make the Eagles pay for their mistake, taking just two plays to move the ball 18 yards for a touchdown. Bulldog quarterback Galen Ryman did a run around the right end to give his team a 6-0 lead.

The Eagles answered immediately. On their first play from scrimmage Frederick Weidner took a toss to the left and popped into the secondary. Weidner then out raced the defense for an 80-yard score, tying the game at 6-6.

“Weidner is a good football player, with great instincts,” Wellsville head coach Mark Luedtke said. “He out ran everyone despite a sore knee.”

The Bulldogs regained the lead three plays later. Alen Troyer took a cross-buck handoff through the line going right, and he appeared to be stopped after a 12-yard gain. Troyer shrugged off a couple of Eagle defenders before they could force him to the ground and broke away for a 45-yard touchdown run. The Bulldogs lead grew to 12-6.

The Eagles next possession was short, and they punted the ball to the Anderson County 5-yard line. Ryman gained 51 yards on the Bulldogs’ first play, and they were pinned deep no more. They marched the ball steadily down the field and on the 10th play of the drive, Joseph Whitcomb scored on a 7-yard touchdown run.

Whitcomb was the primary offensive threat for the Bulldogs in the first half, gaining 143 yards on 16 carries before halftime. He left the game in the second half with what appeared to be cramps and ended the night with 173 yards rushing.

The Bulldogs’ last score of the first half was a 6-yard run by Ryman. It capped a 10-play drive that was kept alive by a pass interference call against the Eagles on third and 22.

The Eagles’ Luedtke was not pleased with his team at halftime and addressed the team with his concerns.

“We didn’t play physical enough, and we lacked effort in the first half,” Luedtke said. “Then we had to try and play catch up, but we were just too far behind.”

Luedtke’s strongly worded halftime message to the Eagles must have been effective, as they appeared to have a real sense of purpose in the second half.

The Bulldogs were four and out to open the second half.

After the punt, the Eagles began their drive at their own 13-yard line. They marched the ball down the field, and on the 13th play of the drive, Dalton Hughes took a toss around the right end 10 yards for a touchdown. That narrowed the Bulldog lead to 28-12.

The Eagle offensive line, which hadn’t been effective in the first half, now seemed able to create lanes for their running backs to run through.

The Bulldogs answered that score with a touchdown of their own. Troyer took a toss around the right edge 65 yards for the score.

Troyer had 143 yards rushing on just six carries for the game.

“I think answering their score after halftime was big for us. I hope our guys learned they can’t just coast in the fourth quarter,” Hilliard said.

The Eagles had another long scoring drive in the fourth quarter. Fullback Vince Ryburn plunged in from one yard out to complete a 14-play drive.

Trailing 35-18 with 1:39 left to play, the Eagles executed a successful onside kick, getting the ball at the 50-yard line.

Weidner scored his second touchdown of the game on a 23-yard run. He would end the night with 144 yards rushing on 10 carries.

The Eagles fall to 3-3 on the season and face a tough task in the first week of district play when they travel to 2008 state runner-up Silver Lake. Silver Lake has been in the state championship game for the past six seasons.

The Bulldogs are now 5-1, and they also have a tough opponent next week when they play host to Chanute.

“We need to figure out a way to slow down Chanute. If our defense doesn’t, it will be tough for our offense to keep pace with them,” Hilliard said.