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WASHINGTON COURT HOUSE — Waverly’s quick-strike, big-play offense is alive and well.
It’s been a cornerstone of the program’s success for quite some time now and, after Friday, there’s no signs of that stopping anytime soon.
Led by Mason Kelly under center and playmakers Kody Sword and Mason Pollard on the outside, the Tigers seized an early lead and never let go en route to a 28-23 win at Miami Trace.
“We did some really good things on both sides of the ball and on special teams,” Waverly coach Chris Crabtree said. “And, at times, we didn’t do some good things. Credit to [Miami Trace]. We turned the ball over on downs a few times, we gave up a safety and they got on a roll there for a minute. But that’s a talented team. I knew we had the talent to be good, but wasn’t sure if we were going to be able to uphold it. We just have to put four quarters together. I’m just proud of our guys for fighting. They found a way to fight”
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
Explosive Swords
While Kelly looked sharp under center all night long, it was Kody Swords that delivered the night’s largest gut punch.
After the Tigers (1-0) took a 21-14 lead into halftime, they were set to get the ball back to begin action in the third. That’s when Swords, who had already done damage, made his mark.
The senior caught the second half kickoff at his own 21-yard line, found an opening and outraced the Panthers’ kick coverage to the house. It kept momentum on Waverly’s sideline and proved, ultimately, to be the game’s deciding score.
“He runs great routes and he’s explosive,” Crabtree said of Swords. “He’s a special kid. He’s definitely a special talent. Obviously, that’s going to draw more attention to him. So Mason Pollard and Mason Sparks, and some of the other guys, that allows them to run good routes and be possession guys. Sawyer [Myers] made some plays. Altogether, we saw some pretty good stuff.”
Tale of the tape
After the two teams traded three-and-outs to kick things off, Waverly got on the board first with 5:18 to play in the first quarter.
Pollard weaved his way past Miami Trace’s pass coverage and found himself wide open. Kelly hit him in the breadbasket for a 56-yard touchdown strike, making it 7-0 early on.
Miami Trace (0-1) provided an answer, though.
Riding the legs of Julian Baker, the Panthers mounted a scoring drive that ended as the first quarter’s buzzer sounded. Evan Colegrove put an exclamation on the drive with a two-yard touchdown plunge, forcing a 7-7 tie.
It took little time for the Tigers to get back in an offensive groove. Kelly found Swords for a gain of 34 yards before calling his number again on a 22-yard touchdown pass for a 14-7 count.
But, with 2:51 left in the first half, the Panthers finished yet another lengthy scoring drive with a two-yard touchdown run from Baker for a 14-14 tally.
“[Miami Trace] threw a little wrinkle in with some unbalanced stuff and that’s stuff you don’t see on film. We probably took too long to adjust to it,” Crabtree said. “We talked about some things at halftime and our staff did a great job of making adjustments and went from there.”
Kelly and company went back to work after Swords — because, who else? — took the ensuing kickoff to MT’s 25-yard line. With 48 seconds to play, Kelly scooted out of the pocket and, on the run, found Sawyer Myers for a six-yard touchdown, producing the 21-14 halftime score.
PHOTOS: Images from Waverly’s win at Miami Trace
“The thing that [Kelly] has improved on the most is getting out of the pocket and getting the ball out,” Crabtree said. “There were a couple of times last year where he would just take a sack. He’s done a really good job of figuring out when he needs to get his shoulders turned and get the ball out. That comes with strength and working in the offseason.”
Directly out of the break, Swords put his final stamp on the game with the aforementioned 79-yard kickoff return, making it 28-14.
The game’s next score came with 1:34 left in the third quarter. That’s when Miami Trace forced a safety, cutting the deficit to 28-16.
But with momentum on their side and with possession of the football, the Panthers made a costly mistake on their next drive.
MT quarterback Trey Robinette led his team into the red zone with multiple completions to wideout Cooper Enochs. Robinette then looked to have scored on a 4th & goal play from inside the five-yard line. However, a holding penalty brought the score back.
On the next play, Waverly’s defense made a stop and the Panthers came away with nothing — negating a score that proved to be the ultimate difference.
Miami Trace did score late on a five-yard run from Baker — his second score of the evening — to make it a 28-23 game but shot itself in the foot once again with less than a minute to play.
After the Panthers’ defense got a stop, it looked as if Robinette and company would have one final chance to score with around 40 seconds to play. However, on the punt attempt that would’ve given them the football, MT was whistled for a roughing the kicker penalty — essentially ending any chance of a miraculous comeback and sealing a Tiger victory.
“The fun is in the winning,” Crabtree said. “I’m never going to be disappointed in a win, regardless of what we need to do better. I told them before the game that we were going to do some really good things and if we go out and execute, we’re going to look really good. But I also told them that there were going to be times where we’re going to have to face adversity. I thought we handled that adversity well tonight.”
Stat book
Kelly led his Tigers, going 9-for-19 for 181 yards and three touchdowns while Pollard hauled in two catches for 93 yards. Swords had four receptions for 76 yards and a score alongside a 79-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.
Miami Trace was led by Baker, who rushed for 134 yards on 21 carries alongside two scores. Evan Colegrove also helped out the ground game with 38 yards and a touchdown on nine totes. Trey Robinette completed 16-of-26 attempts for 232 yards with his main beneficiary being Cooper Enochs, who caught eight passes for 120 yards.
What’s on tap
While Miami Trace continues to search for its first win at Wilmington, Waverly will host Zane Trace — which suffered a hard-fought 33-27 loss to Logan Elm in Week 1.
The Tigers haven’t dropped a game at the hands of the Pioneers since 2015.
“Ultimately, we have to get better at stopping the run and, offensively, we have to keep moving the chains,” Crabtree said. “[Zane Trace] has some great athletes. They’re fast, they’re big … They have all the tools. They run a little mix of everything and that makes them hard to defend. But we’ll do our best to do so.”
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