Chris Slone
The Wheelersburg Pirates continued their dominance in 2015, improving to 5-0 with a 28-7 victory over the Jackson Ironmen who entered the contest undefeated and ranked in the top spot in Division III, Region 9.
“I felt like our kids were really attacking in all aspects of offense, defense and special teams,” Pirates head coach Rob Woodward said. “The kids did a really great job of preparation throughout the week, getting themselves physically and mentally prepared for the game. They came out and really put on a great performance.”
Wheelersburg (5-0) was led by quarterback Kyle Davis who accounted for two touchdowns — one on the ground and one through the air. Davis finished with 66 yards rushing and 62 yards passing.
Jordan Howard also found the end zone on offense, finishing with 62 yards rushing while crossing the goal line in the second quarter. As a team, the Pirates finished with 223 yards on 51 attempts.
“We had weather that was obviously a factor and we knew that going in,” Woodward said. “I just felt like our kids were physically and mentally prepared to take it right at them. We saw what teams done against them this year, we felt like nobody tried to take it right at them. We thought that was something that we could work.
“We had the confidence our kids could go right at them and our kids stepped up to the challenge this week.”
The last Pirate touchdown was indicative of their defensive effort all night, which resulted in four Ironmen turnovers. But none were bigger than Clint Hatfield’s pick six in the fourth quarter to dash any hopes Jackson had of staging a comeback.
“We really talked a lot about doing our jobs and being in the best position to be successful,” Woodward said. “We talked about the fact they have to trust one another, plug their gaps, fill the holes and cover the receivers on either side. That was the best performance I’ve seen from this team of really trusting one another and doing their jobs.
“And Clint caped it off with a great pick six … “
Wheelersburg will return home next week to face the Oak Hill Oaks who have won or shared the SOC I title six of the last seven years. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.
Reach Chris Slone at 740-353-3101, ext 1930, or on Twitter @crslone.
Box Score
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Wheelersburg | 0 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 28 |
| Jackson | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
SCORING SUMMARY
1st Quarter
No Scoring
2nd Quarter
Wheelersburg — Davis 1 yd run (Lewis kick), 10:14
Wheelersburg — Howard 1 yd run (Lewis kick), 1:02
3rd Quarter
Wheelersburg — Darnell 38 yd pass from Davis (Lewis kick), 11:49
Jackson — Massie 3 yd run (Moore kick), 2:06
4th Quarter
Wheelersburg — Hatfield 16 yd interception return (Lewis kick), 4:27
TEAM STATISTICS
| Wheelersburg | Jackson | |
| First Downs | 17 | 11 |
| Rush Att-Yds | 51-223 | 35-124 |
| Pass Comp-Att-Int | 5-7 | 10-21-1 |
| Pass Yards | 62 | 75 |
| Totals Yards | 285 | 199 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 3-2 | 3-2 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 4 |
| Penalties-Yards | 2-12 | 0-0 |
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing — Wheelersburg: Davis 16-66, Howard 14-62, Burk 13-64, Carmichael 8-31; Jackson: Sexton 13-47, Farley 9-27, Potter 6-42, McCoy 3-2, Conley 2-3, Massie 1-3, Hall 1-0.
Passing — Wheelersburg: Davis 5-7-62; Jackson: Sexton 9-20-68.
Receiving — Wheelersburg: Darnell 1-38, Carmichael 1-10, Burke 3-14; Jackson: Leach 5-41, Neal 2-16, McCoy 2-13, Farley 1-5.
Records
Wheelersburg 5-0, Jackson 4-1.
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