Week 4 Football Wrap-up

By Terry Futrell – September 9, 2018

Week 4 of the 2018 season continued to paint a clearer playoff picture for teams in Class 1A Region 2.

Wartburg Overwhelms Oakdale

It was a festive atmosphere at John R. Dillon field in Wartburg as the Class 2A Bulldogs celebrated homecoming by overwhelming undermanned Class 1A Oakdale 49-0. The home stands were filled and fans crowded the sidelines to watch the winless Bulldogs claim their first home victory since October 18, 2013.

For the first time in the 2018 season, the Bulldogs played an aggressive, well-executed game for four quarters, never giving the Eagles an opportunity for a comeback. Fill-in quarterback Josh Moore and his receivers are now clearly in synch, opening up new opportunities for running the ball.

The Bulldogs capitalized on several big plays, including 35- and 56-yard passes to Caleb McCarty, a 28-yard pass to Colby Justes, a run of 37 yards by Moore, and a punt return of 40 yards by Moore.

The Eagles played tough and never gave up, but Oakdale’s inability to substitute freely because of its limited roster of players took its toll in the second half. With Eli Solomon and Garrett Miller sharing quarterback duties, the Eagles moved the ball effectively at times by mixing both pass and run plays, but were hampered by penalties and turnovers.

Wartburg finished the game with 193 yards rushing and 138 yards passing. Oakdale gained 62 yards on the ground and 33 yards through the air.

The convincing victory for Wartburg should give the Bulldog players a major boost in confidence as they move on to face other Class 2A Region 2 opponents.

The Eagles received a huge blow when Wayne Wilder left the game with a probable season-ending knee injury, further depleting their limited ranks. The Eagles will have to rest in the satisfaction of knowing that they gave their all and played with honor throughout the game.

Scoring Summary:

	1	2	3	4	Total
Oakdale	0	0	0	0	0
Wartburg	7	13	29	0	49

Coalfield Cages the Sunbright Tigers

It is hard to imagine having to face two top-ten teams on consecutive Friday nights, but that is the misfortune that faced the Sunbright Tigers. A week after being crushed by top-ranked Greenback, the Tigers faced No. 10 Coalfield at home on Friday. The results were much the same as the Jackets cruised to a 41-6 victory over the Tigers, even with big Johnny Carroll on crutches on the sideline after a serious knee injury in the Harriman game.

Coalfield ran the ball right at the Tigers, with eight different ball carriers. The Jackets rushing attack was highlighted by Anthony Foster’s eight rushes for 149 yards and two TDs. Seth Lowe rushed seven times for 56 yards and one TD. Ashton Jones contributed by rushing eight times for 35 yards and one TD. Quarterback Lance Byrd was 4-8 passing for 76 yards on the night.

Sunbright struggled to move the ball against the Coalfield defense, but quarterback John Wayne Freels had notable rushes of 20 and 32 yards. The Tigers had a total of 23 rushes for 98 yards. Freels was 5-16 passing for 93 yards, including a 59-yard pass to Ethan Hammock for a first-quarter TD.

Coalfield moves on to play Oakdale next Friday, followed by five tough games with Marion County, Midway, Greenback, Oliver Springs, and Oneida.

Sunbright faces a tough Harriman team at home next Friday, followed by Wartburg and Oakdale.

Scoring Summary:

	1	2	3	4	Total
Coalfield	21	13	7	0	41
Sunbright	6	0	0	0	6

Other Area Games of Interest

Harriman rebounded from their loss to Coalfield last week and defeated tough Class 2A Oneida on the Indians home field. The Blue Devils refuse to go away and will most certainly affect who goes to the playoffs in Class 1A Region 2.

Midway remained undefeated by putting away Region 1 Unaka 46-20. The Greenwave are definitely in the mix for the playoffs, but still must face Coalfield, Harriman, Greenback, and Oliver Springs, which will prove to be quite a challenge.

Oliver Springs rolled over winless Class 3A Northview Academy 31-0. The Bobcats are now 3-0, but have not played any of their tough Class 1A Region 2 opponents.