Wood picks up its first league win

When two high-flying offenses square off, no lead is safe.

The Will C. Wood football team found that out but held off the Rodriguez Mustangs at Rodriguez High for a 46-32 victory in Monticello Empire League action.

Wood, now 1-1 in MEL play, led 25-8 at the half. But Rodriguez stormed back to close within one score before two late Wildcat touchdowns to put the game away.

“They (the Mustangs) have a pretty talented quarterback and a group of receivers,” said Wood head coach Kirk Anderson. “So they battled back into the game and made it interesting.”

But the Wildcats never panicked during the furious Rodriguez comeback.

“I thought the kids handled the adversity well and we didn’t really flinch,” Anderson said. “We just responded and were able to get a couple of scores late in the game. So that was good to see.”

Wood amassed 213 yards on the ground — 103 of those on eight carries by Keyon Grayer, who scored three touchdowns and had a run of 44 yards. He also had a 78-yard reception.

Quarterback Ken Tilford broke off a run of 34 yards and scored a touchdown. He was also 4-for-5 passing for 188 yards and a TD.

“Ken played well,” said Anderson. “He was extremely efficient.”

Krishna Clay, who also plays varsity basketball, used his hoops skills to palm a ball — this time a football — as he made a spectacular, leaping one-handed grab in the end zone for a touchdown.

“I thought we played well,” Anderson said. “Their defense is pretty high-risk, high-reward. So they made some plays. But with their scheme they were susceptible to some explosive plays as well. Steven Lukens had a 25yard run, Tilford had a 34-yard run, Grayer had a 78-yard catch and a 44-yard run. Rodriguez brought a lot of blitzes. They definitely made some plays, but we were able to take advantage of some of their aggression to get some big plays on offense.”

Anderson praised Devin Copta-Vaughan and Josiah Flores for leading the defense, which came up with four interceptions — two by Copta-Vaughan, one by Flores and one by Dominic Barnett.

“I thought our secondary played really well, considering how many times they threw the ball,” Anderson said. “Our pass defense played with great discipline. The defensive coaching staff built a solid plan and the players executed the plan well.”