... - Sports - Preps - Westminster Catawba

Saturday, Sep. 20, 2008

Christ School 39, Westminster Catawba 6

With a 39-6 lead and only seconds left on the clock, Christ School head coach Jamie Auch decided to rush the ball for a touchdown on fourth down.

The goal-line play was stuffed by a Westminster Catawba team that had already allowed more than 300 yards rushing in the game. Although the contest was only a late Indians touchdown away from a shutout, Westminster coach Ben McGarity said the stop was a huge one for his team.

“That stand at the end really makes me proud of my kids,” McGarity said. “To get as low as we got in the third quarter and still come back strong like that and force turnovers was big for us.”

Cameron Adkins, who played on both sides of the ball for Westminster, said the Indians’ last stand “was a great way to end the fourth quarter.”

The two teams were involved in a stalemate until early in the second quarter when Auggie Campbell scored the first of his three touchdowns on a 2-yard run. Westminster still seemed to be in the game when it entered the third quarter down 12-0.

That all changed on one fluky play where Campbell mishandled a kick-off three times and eventually picked the ball up from in front of a batch of Westminster defenders and took the ball 80 yards for a touchdown.

“We couldn’t cover it any better,” McGarity said. “That was just a fluke.”

The play deflated the Indians, who went on to allow a 27-point third quarter that saw Preston Holmes gain most of his 147 yards rushing. The flurry of scores resulted in a 39-0 score by the end of the third quarter.

During its dry spell, Westminster failed to capitalize on multiple dropped balls and couldn’t finish drives that showed with early promise. The Indians couldn’t mount a comeback due to its inept passing attack, which only managed only managed 85 yards that came in spurts throughout the game.

Adkins caught the only touchdown pass of the day for Westminster, which came in the fourth quarter after the game was out of the Indians’ reach. Both teams made their share of mistakes in the fumble- and penalty-laden game, but McGarity said he sees positive things coming from his team in the future.

“We’re a young ball club,” McGarity said. “We’re basically a JV team. We only have four juniors, so we’re going to take our lumps, but the wins are going to come.”

CHRIST SCHOOL 39, WESTMINSTER CATAWBA 6

Christ School.....0.....12.....27.....0.....—.....39

WCCS.....0.....0.....0.....6.....—.....6

SCORING SUMMARY

CS — Auggie Campbell 2 run (Danny Agee kick failed)

CS — Campbell 16 run (run failed)

CS — Campbell 80 kickoff return (Agee kick failed)

CS — Campbell 1 run (Agee kick)

CS — Preston Holmes 29 run (Agee kick)

CS — Mo Martin 34 run (Agee kick)

WCCS — Cameron Adkins 7 pass from Hayden Black (Will Pickel kick blocked).

TEAM STATISTICS

.....CS.....WCCS

First downs.....15.....5

Rushes-yards.....45-339.....21-19

Comp-Att-Int .....0-3-2.....12-22-1

Passing yards.....0.....85

Fumbles-lost.....1-1.....2-2

Penalties-yards.....4-42.....5-28

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Christ School: Holmes 14-147, Mo Martin 12-128, Sam Martin 7-15, Campbell 6-28, Charlie Jackson 4-17, Matt Martin 2-4; Westminster Catawba: Broderique Moore 5-35, Jacob Myers 3-16, Josh Parker 6-(-3), Brad Adams 1-(-14), Hayden Black 6-(-15).

PASSING — Christ School: Mo Martin 0-2-0-2; Westminster Catawba: Hayden Black 12-21-1-85.

RECEIVING — Westminster Catawba: Brad Adams 4-70, Adkins 4-24, Moore 2-(-2), Parker 2-(-7).

RECORDS — Christ School 3-1; Westminster Catawba 0-5