By CHARLIE HUST
South Warren High School was just too much for Webster County to handle Friday night in the opening round of the 2013 KHSAA Class 3A football playoffs in Bowling Green.
The fourth-ranked Spartans, improving their record to an impressive 10-1, rolled to a 49-7 victory with a dominating effort and will face No. 2 Fort Campbell in this Friday’s second round of the playoffs. The Falcons eliminated Edmonson County 48-7 on Friday.
Webster, making its first post-season appearance in six years, fell to 1-10 on the season.
South Warren scored 28 points in the first quarter to take total command of the contest led by senior quarterback Jay Eblen who scored five touchdowns in one half to force a running clock in the second quarter.
After a three-and-out for the Trojans on the first possession of the game, Eblen scored on a 35-yard touchdown run for the quick 7-0 run.
South’s defense, which allowed only 25 total points and recorded six shoutouts in the regular season, forced another 3-and-out from WCHS. It took only two plays for Eblen to find Drew Wilken in the corner of the end zone for a 29-yard TD and a 14-0 lead less than four minutes into the game.
SWHS stretched the lead to 21-0 on a two yard run from Dimitri Bibb and then used a Webster pass interference penalty to open the door for the fourth touchdown of the first quarter, a 17-yard touchdown pass from Eblen to Wilken with 2:59 left to go in the first quarter.
Eblen ran for a 4-yard TD on the Spartan’s first possession of the second quarter and then Julius Allen make 42-0 with an 18-yard TD scamper at the 9:11 mark of the period. Eblen then put the finishing touches on South’s scoring with a 24-yard touchdown run with 6:30 remaining in the half for the 49-0 lead.
Webster recieved a spark in the second quarter when senior Peyton Bussell ripped through the strong Spartan defense for an apparent 78-yard touchdown. But the run was nullified on a block in the back penalty.
Despite the the huge deficit, the Trojans continued to fight and broke through the top-ranked South Warren defense with a touchdown in the fourth quarter. On a 4th-and-1, senior Zach Bruce outran the Spartans for a 71-yard touchdown to finalize the scoring on the night. Ethan Drury added the extra point with 6:36 left in the contest.
Bruce’s run was pretty much the total of Webster’s offense on the night. South held the Trojans to just 85 total yards in the game. The Spartans put up 236 total yards.