Published: October 04, 2008 01:00 am            

Yellowjackets sting Southern, 36-16

BEREA — Madison Southern was able to match Williamsburg for two quarters, but a fumble that was turned into points and the running power of the Yellowjackets’ Ed Lawson eventually downed the Eagles.

Southern was tied 8-8 at the end of the first half, but Williamsburg scored 14 points in the third quarter to hand the Eagles (0-6) a 10th-straight loss, 36-15.

“We came out and laid the ball on the ground,” Southern coach David Brumley said. “Then we had a lot of missed tackles on defense. We got bogged down and when we were in a situation where we knew we had to pass, they brought some heat on us. We have to do a better job of protecting the quarterback in a situation where we have to throw.”

Williamsburg scored on its first possession, putting the ball in the end zone off a one-yard rush by junior quarterback Ryan Moses. The Yellowjackets’ converted a two-point conversion on a pass to senior wide receiver Aaron Brock.

Despite a hiccup with three minutes left in the first quarter when senior linebacker Garrett Phillips intercepted Southern freshman quarterback Chris Roberts, the Eagles were able to put one in the end zone 30 seconds into the second quarter. Sophomore wide receiver Devon Johnson set up the touchdown with a 23-yard reception that was extended to the 12-yard line by a facemask call. Junior running back Rico Brown took it the rest of the way, and also added a two-point conversion to tie the game.

Southern had two key defensive plays to end the first half. They stopped Williamsburg on fourth down on their own one-yard line to take over on downs. They also recovered a fumble with 17.6 seconds left to send the game into halftime tied.

However, in the third quarter, the Yellowjackets blew the game wide open, first by recovering a fumble by senior Carrington Roberts on the 49-yard line. Less than two minutes later, sophomore fullback Chris Lowrie had an 11-yard rushing touchdown. Moses rushed for the two-point conversion.

With 6:34 left in the third quarter, Lawson broke free for another 11-yard touchdown. The ensuing two-point conversion failed.

“We need to make some strides in the weight room because we came up and made some big hits but we didn’t wrap up,” Brumley said. “We had them bottled up there and the next thing we know, they’re out of the pocket and running free. We have to do a better job of sustaining tackles and not going for the kill shot.”

Southern got back within a score when junior tight end Brad Riddell got a 38-yard reception to set up a 51-yard touchdown reception by junior wide receiver Brandon Sipple with 5:20 left in the game.

“Brandon’s a good athlete,” Brumley said. “He can make some good, clutch catches for us. He does a good job. We like that personnel grouping because we’ve got Devon in at running back and we split Rico out and we’ve got Carrington and Sipple and that gives us a chance to catch the ball.”

However, with just more than five minutes left, Lawson once again had his say, rushing 62 yards for a touchdown which was extended to eight points by a Moses two-point conversion. The final nail in the Eagles’ coffin came with a 19-yard touchdown reception by senior wide receiver Tyler Brown with 2:15 left in the game.

Brown was the leading rusher for Southern, getting 11 rushes for 80 yards and a touchdown. Sipple was the leading receiver, getting two receptions for 63 yards and a touchdown. Johnson had 48 yards receiving and 22 yards rushing on the night. Roberts was 10-of-22 for 171 yards and two touchdowns. One place where the Eagles were much improved was in the turnover ratio. They only had one fumble and one interception.

“We told our guys if we won the turnover battle, we’d have a chance tonight,” Brumley said. “We need to do a little better job of hanging onto the ball. We are making some strides but we still need to take care of the ball for four quarters.”

Williamsburg’s leading rusher was Lawson, who had 20 rushes for 184 yards and three touchdowns. Moses was 13-of-24 for 206 yards and a touchdown.

Southern will face off against Bell County Friday in Pineville.

“We’ll go back to work and we’ll get better,” Brumley said. “We’ll brush up on our tackling and work on protecting the quarterback and we’ll get it done.”

Pirates suffer first loss

Berea Community suffered its first loss of season Friday night, falling to Estill County (5-1), 52-12 in Irvine.

The Pirates (4-1) opened the season with four straight wins, by a combined score of 139-40, and hadn’t allowed more than 15 points a game.

They were coming off back-to-back lopsided victories, 53-12 at home against Beth Haven and 42-15 at Nicholas County last week.

Berea is set to return to action next Friday at home against Clinton County.

        

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