Michael Hamilton
PDT Sports Contributor
Wheelersburg- As legendary Pirate Head Coach Ed Miller looked on from the press box, the Wheelersburg Pirates (6-0) chopped down the Oak Hill Oaks (2-4) 48-0. With the win over the Oaks, the Pirates remained undefeated and snapped the Oaks two game winning streak.
“I thought the team came out and played really well,” said Wheelersburg Head Coach Rob Woodward. “We were attacking from all aspects of (the game), offense, defense, and special teams.”
Wheelersburg quarterback Kyle Davis led the Pirates on offense throughout the first half. Davis accounted for three rushing touchdowns, two of which were each 38-yard runs.
The offense wasn’t the only dominating force in the game, as the Pirate defense held a chokehold on the Oak Hill offense the entire night. An already impressive defense throughout the first half of the season looked no different as it started the second half of the 2015 season.
The Pirate dominated half featured what seemed to be an unstoppable offense that did very little wrong.
Lady Luck also looked to be on the Pirates’ side after a Jordan Howard fumble, where fortunately for Pirate fans, fellow teammate Brady Newsome managed to fall on the ball keeping possession with the Pirates.
Oak Hill looked like they might return fire on Wheelersburg in the early stages of the second quarter. However, penalties negated much of the gains the Oaks had. After the penalties, the Pirates defense stepped up and forced the Oaks to punt.
In a rather strange turn of events, the Oaks quarterback Layne Burdine was intercepted by the Pirates, which was then stolen away from the Pirates by Oak Hill wide receiver Wess Mullett.
In the last full series for the Oaks offense, in the first half, Burdine connected with wide receiver Cody Swann for a 38-yard gain. Even with the big gain, the Oaks were unable to put points on the scoreboard, as the Pirate defense then put a stranglehold on any further yardage of note.
Closing the first half out, Wheelersburg’s Jordan Howard answered the call for the Pirates as he punched in a 12-yard touchdown run. After the score, the Pirates led the Oaks 28-0 with less than a minute left in the half thanks to the 6 play 67-yard drive.
The second half went much like the first, as the Pirates continued to dominate the game. Wheelersburg opened the half with an eight play 75-yard drive that ended with Jordan Howard’s second and final score on the evening.
Leading 35-0 after the opening drive of the second half, the running clock rule came into play, which also saw an influx of new players on the field for both sides.
With fresh bodies on the field, the Pirates continued to control the game on both sides of the ball.
Matt Dyer, replacing Davis at quarterback, would lead the Pirates down the field on a 9 play 74-yard drive that ended with a beautiful scoring run by Keaton Newsome. The 4-yard run gave the Pirates an even more comfortable 42-0 lead late in the game.
The cannons would fire once more at Ed Miller Stadium after another score from Wheelersburg late in the fourth quarter. Dominic Reyes electrified the remaining Pirate fans on the cold and rainy night with a 56-yard run for a touchdown, the longest score of the night. After the score, a missed point after attempt gave the Pirates a 48 point lead over the Oaks.
Oak Hill was not about to give up though, as they would march down the field with several successful runs. However, the Oaks momentum would be short-lived as Wheelersburg’s Ben Shultz would recover an Oak Hill fumble giving the Pirates possession of the ball with only 2:40 remaining in the game, and a running clock.
The Pirates ran the clock down, and secured their sixth win of the season.
It was Wheelersburg’s night from start to finish, and saw both starters and reserve players shine. The reserves refused to allow the Oaks to score and kept positive yardage for the Oaks to a minimum. Matt Dyer had an impressive 40-yard run during his time in the game, as did Keaton Newsome and Dominic Reyes, who each had long runs as well as a score.
“I thought our kids were focused,” said Woodward as he commented on the overall play of his Pirates. “We had a great week of preparation, and while we made some mistakes tonight at different times, but we were able to correct those.”
Woodward said he could immediately think of at least five plays that his offense executed perfectly. “They made some great plays throughout the game,” added Woodward.
The Wheelersburg Pirates (6-0) will remain home at Ed Miller Stadium for a Week 7 match up against the Waverly Tigers (3-3). The Friday, October 9th game has a 7 PM kickoff.
Oak Hill (2-4) will travel to McDermott, Ohio to face the Northwest Mohawks (4-2) on October 9th. Friday’s game is scheduled with a 7 PM kickoff.
Box Score
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | |
| Oak Hill | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wheelersburg | 7 | 21 | 7 | 13 | 48 |
Scoring Summary
1st Quarter
Burg – K. Davis 38-yard rush (PAT) (8:23) (7-0)
2nd Quarter
Burg – K. Davis 38-yard rush (PAT) (11:49) (14-0)
Burg – K. Davis 10-yard rush (PAT) (8:00) (21-0)
Burg – J. Howard 12-yard rush (PAT) (0:45) (28-0)
3rd Quarter
Burg – J. Howard 6-yard rush (Pat) (7:59) (35-0)
4th Quarter
Burg – K. Newsome 4-yard rush (PAT) (6:51) (42-0)
Burg – D. Reyes 56-yard rush (PAT failed) (1:54) (48-0)
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