By CHARLIE HUST
Second-year Trojan football coach Scotty Vance knew his squad would have their hands full heading into Friday’s game against an undefeated Ballard Memorial squad. He was right. The Bombers, who entered the game averaging 47 points in their first three victories, padded that total against Webster with a 64-27 victory.
Ballard’s ‘big strike’ offense put a quick touchdown in the books on its first play from scrimmage, a 42-yard touchdown run from Ethan Dunning. Austin Summers booted the point after and the Bombers grabbed the early 7-0 lead with 9:50 remaining in the first quarter.
UPDATE OF PREVIOUS STORY
After another ‘3-and-out’ possession from the Trojans, Ballard Memorial struck again with an 18-yard TD scamper from Devoun Bledsoe. The PAT was blocked but the Bombers were flying high with a 13-0 lead. That lead grew to 20-0 when BM’s defense forced Webster’s third punt in as many possessions, and Cash Owsley grabbed the kick and raced 60-yards untouched for the touchdown and a 20-0 lead with 4:58 left in the first quarter.
Despite the early deficit, the Trojan squad fought back and took control of the game on both sides of the ball for the next 10 minutes.
Vance went to an ‘air raid’ offensive attack and sophomore quarterback Dillon Baty was up to the task. He sparked a Webster scoring drive with five straight completions including big gainers to Jammin Warren, Zach Bruce and Peyton Bussell. Tre’ Wright capped off Webster’s impressive 70-yard drive with a 21-yard touchdown run with :08 left in the opening period. Ethan Drury was perfect with the PAT to trim the lead to 20-7.
Webster’s defense stunned the Bombers on their next possession, forcing a quick 3-and-out set, giving the ball right back to the red-hot Baty. And he answered the call.
Facing a third-and-15 at his own 28 yard line, Baty fired a perfect spiral to Jammin Warren behind the Bomber secondary. Warren sprinted 72-yards to the end zone for his first career touchdown. Drury tacked on the extra point and the Trojans had pulled within 20-14.
Ballard Memorial (4-0) again stretched the lead with it’s big play capability, marching 75 yards in four plays, capped off by a 2-yard touchdown run from Alek Hugen. That made it 26-14 with 2:34 left in the first half.
But the Trojans weren’t going to quit and they answered with a scoring drive in the final two minutes of the half. Baty hit Bruce for a 15-yard gainer and then ran for 10 yards into BM territory. Another 20-yard gain to Bruce set up Baty’s second TD toss of the contest, a 25-yarder to Drury for his first career touchdown reception. The WC senior then booted the extra points to pull Webster to within five points, 26-21, with only 1:01 to go before halftime.
The Bombers quickly extinguished the fire on the WCHS sidelines as senior quarterback Trevor Langston fired a 44-yard touchdown pass to Bledsoe and regain the momentum heading into halftime. A two-point conversion run from Dunning stretched the lead to 34-21 with just :30 to go.
Although trailing by 13 points, Webster’s offense looked very sharp at times as Baty enjoyed his finest night at the helm tossing for 178 yards on 9-of-15 attempts.
But the opening play of the second half was a quick glimpse of what was to come from the high-powered Bombers. Owsley received the second half kickoff and sprinted 80 yards for his second touchdown of the night. That opened the flood gates for five straight touchdowns and 38 straight points as Ballard exploded to a 64-21 lead late in the fourth quarter.
Once again, the Trojans showed a bit of ‘spunk’ in the final minutes of the game with a 68-yard scoring drive. Baty’s two-yard run capped of the march, setting the final score of 64-27 with 1:01 left in the game.
Webster (1-3) managed just 19 total net yards in the second half as halftime adjustments from the Ballard coaching staff halted the Webster air attack.
Baty did finish with a career-high 183 yards passing on 10-of-22 attempts. Bruce had four receptions for 54 yards along with 17 yards rushing. Peyton Bussell added 21 yards on four catches while Warren also had put up career numbers with 83 receiving yards on three catches. WCHS managed just 28 yards on the ground.
Ballard finished with 306 rushing yards and 66 through the air on 5-of-13 tosses from Langston.
Webster will seek to snap its three-game losing streak against Crittenden County Friday night in Dixon with a 7 p.m. kickoff. The Rockets (2-1) suffered their first loss of the season last Friday, falling to Union County 43-6.
Friday’s contest will be preceded by annual WCHS Homecoming festivities beginning at 6:30.