Friday night, the Wayne County High School Wildcats traveled to Summertown to take on the Eagles. The Wildcats piled up 449 yards of total offense and put 40 points on the scoreboard to defeat the Eagles, 40 – 14, for their first win of their 2023 football campaign. The ‘Cats rushed 58 times for 370 yards, led by Ryder Butler’s 170 yards on 13 carries. The ‘Cats took a 26 – 14 halftime lead and never looked back.
Summertown opened the game on offense and put together a 64-yard drive, scoring a touchdown on the 8th play of the drive on a 5 yard run. The PAT was blocked by Wildcat Dane Bryant, and the Eagles led 6 – 0 with 8:25 left on the first quarter clock. The Wildcats matched the Eagle drive, going 64 yards in 9 plays and scoring with 2:55 left in the first quarter as Quarterback Drew Bevis sneaked in from the one-yard line. Kacee Hunt came on to convert the point-after to make the score 7 – 6 in favor of the Wildcats. On their second possession, the Eagles took the ball at their own 46. They moved the ball to the Wildcat 43 where Bryant came up with an interception. Seven plays later, the Wildcats scored for the second time, with Bevis again taking it in from the one. Hunt converted again, and the ‘Cats led, 14 – 6, with 11:07 left before the half.
Summertown struck quick, scoring their second touchdown only seconds later as they returned the kick-off 85 yards for a touchdown. They scored the two-point conversion to make the score 14 – 14, with 10:53 left in the second quarter. The Wildcats answered three minutes later, going 55 yards in five plays for their third score. For the third time on the night, Drew Bevis carried the ball in from the one for the score. The conversion attempt failed, but the ‘Cats led 20 – 14. Each team turned the ball over on downs their next possessions. With 1:07 left on the clock before the half, Wildcat Brayden Littleton came up with a fumble recovery on the Wildcat 35. The Wildcats covered the 65 yards in 5 plays, with Ryder Butler rushing for 44 of that. Drew Bevis found Sayler Skelton on a 15-yard touchdown pass for the score to up the lead to 26 – 14 at the half.
In the second half, the Wildcats took the opening kick at their own 45. Seven plays later, Jakob Nienast scored on a 3-yard run. Nienast also carried the ball in for the 2-pts to make the score 34 – 14. The ‘Cats saw the Eagles put together an 11-play drive, down to the Wildcat 7, but the ‘Cats got it back on a fumble recovery by Drew Bevis. They scored their final touchdown with 7:05 left in the game as they went for a fake punt by Ryder Butler which was converted with 10:40 left to extend a 14-play drive. Butler scored the touchdown, this time on an 18-yard run. The two-point conversion was no good, making the final score 40 -14.
Ryder Butler led the Wildcats with 13 carries for 170 yards and one touchdown. Drew Bevis had 20 carries on the night for 94 yards and 3 scores. Bevis was 4 of 7, passing for 79 yards and a touchdown. David-Grant Dixon had one catch for 8 yards, while Sayler Skelton had 3 receptions for 71 yards and a touchdown. Jakob Nienast rushed 13 times for 66 yards with a touchdown and a 2-point conversion run. Cayson Castleman rushed two times for 13 yards, and David Ullman had 2 carries for 7 yards. Mason Moore rushed 3 times for 8 yards, and Jared Dingus had 2 carries for 15 yards. Cason Weaver had one carry for one yard, and Case Butler rushed one time.
The Wildcat defense limited the Summertown offense to 112 yards. They came up with a pair of fumble recoveries and an interception. The Eagles rushed 23 times for 64 yards and were 3 of 14 passing for 48 yards. Brayden Littleton led the defense with 6 tackles, 5 assists, a fumble recovery and a forced fumble. Cayson Castleman had 4 tackles and an assist, and David Ullman had 3 tackles and 3 assists. Aaron Martin had a solo tackle, a tackle for a loss, and 3 assists. Jakob Nienast had 3 tackles and an assist, while Ryder Butler had 2 tackles and 2 assists. Jaxon Pope had 2 tackles and an assist, and Dane Bryant had a solo tackle, a tackle for a loss, an interception, and blocked a PAT. Will Robertson had a tackle and an assist, and Jared Dingus and Case Butler each had a tackle. Drew Bevis had a fumble recovery.
Defensive stats from the Mt. Pleasant loss last week are as follows: Will Robertson had 3 solo tackles, 2 assists, and an interception. Dane Bryant had 3 tackles, 2 assists, and blocked a punt. David Ullman had 3 tackles and an assist, while Cayson Castleman had 3 tackles and forced a fumble. Drew Bevis had a quarterback sack and 2 tackles. Talan Keeton had a tackle for a loss and a sack, while Ryder Butler had a tackle for a loss, an assist, recovered a fumble, and broke up a pass. Jakob Nienast had a tackle for a loss, a solo tackle, and an assist, and Mason Moore, Braden Littleton, Sayler Skelton, and David-Grant Dixon each had a solo tackle. Aaron Martin had a quarterback sack.
The Wildcats are now 1 – 1 on the year, and they are on the road again this week as they face the Richland Raiders. Game time is 7:00 p.m. Travel with the ‘Cats this week as they work to get another win! “GOOD LUCK ‘CATS!”—-Submitted
