Will C. Wood beatsupon Armijo, 60-6
The Will C. Wood High football engine was firing on all cylinders as the Wildcats shellacked the visiting Armijo Royals at Wildcat Stadium 60-6 on Friday night, which was both Homecoming and Senior Night.
The Wildcats (2-1) amassed 491 yards rushing on only 33 offensive plays in the Monticello Empire League contest. The ground game was going so well that Wood used the “if it’s not broken, don’t fix it” approach and attempted only one pass, which resulted in a sack.
Wood running back Joseph Minor chalked up 125 yards on the ground and scored two touchdowns.
Quarterback Ken Tilford rambled for two rushing touchdowns on his only two carries for a total of 114 yards, while Warren Soli accumulated 115 yards on just three carries with a touchdown.
Wood’s Keyon Grayer pulled his hamstring on the opening kickoff. So Devin Copta-Vaughn took his spot at slot receiver and ran for 76 yards on two carries and a touchdown. Damien Gutierrez accounted for the other rushing touchdown.
After Wood took the opening kickoff, Minor broke off an 83yard touchdown run on the second play from scrimmage.
“That kind of set the table for an explosive night offensively,” said Wood head coach Kirk Anderson. “I thought we played really fast. We started the game really fast.”
Krishna Clay also gave the Wildcats a boost in the first quarter with an interception he returned 50 yards for a touchdown.
“It was a pretty cool play,” said Anderson, “because he plays defensive line and they tried to complete a slant. He jumped and picked the ball out of the air from close proximity and took it back.”
The defense was solid in general, as Wood sprinted to a 47-0 halftime lead. Xavier Copeland sacked the quarterback twice, and Clay and Jacob Tolentino combined for a sack. Josiah Flores came up with an interception.
Due to the big lead against Armijo (0-3), Anderson began subbing in the second quarter. By the third quarter it was pretty much a whole new Wood team on the field.
“It was really good to see the scout team guys, the guys who don’t necessarily get the praise but they are out there working just as hard as anybody else,” Anderson said. “It was awesome to see those guys get in the game. It’s rewarding to see those guys pay attention in practice and knowing that their time was going to come and get in and not really miss a beat.”
Anderson was pleased with the effort in all facets of the game from his entire squad.
“I thought that there was a great focus from the players in regard to the details of their assignments,” Anderson said. “I attribute it to a really focused week of practice. You could just tell that the kids were locked into the game plan.