By TIM HYDEN, CJ Sports Writer
Somerset — After two hard weeks on the road, slugging it out with the top contenders to take their district crown, Somerset returned home Friday night to face their old rival, and district opponent, Wayne County. It would be a nice homecoming for the young Jumpers, and a rough bus ride back to Monticello for the Cardinals, as Somerset dominated the second half en route to a decisive 41-7 district win.
“I’m happy with the way we played tonight,” said Somerset Head Coach Jay Cobb. “And I’m very happy with the way we played in the second half. We put one on the board, then stretched it out and finished it off. And a big part of that was the play of our defense in the second half.”
The defense, which had been far too porous in the second half of the last two games, pitched a shutout over the last three quarters. Somerset knew coming in that they would have a tough task stopping junior tailback DJ Hall. But the Jumpers were able to hold him to just 43 yards on 12 carries before he left the game in the third quarter with an injury. Chris Burks was able to gash the Somerset defense for 58 yards on three carries in the first half, but in the second, when he became the main back after Hall’s injury, he only totaled 11 yards on seven runs.
The only real weapon Wayne County had on the night was quarterback Zach Stephenson. But he didn’t threaten through the air, where he passed for only 26 yards. His contribution was the 123 yards he gained on 15 carries.
“We were gearing to stop Hall,” said Cobb. “We felt he was the biggest threat to make the big play so we swarmed to the ball when he had it in his hands. This opened it up a little for the others in their backfield, but we felt like it was necessary.
“Stephenson really hurt us on the ground. He reminded me of the Steele kid that played for them last year.”
Offensively, it was obvious from the first that Somerset quarterback Scott Spears would have to shoulder the biggest load. He opened the game with six passes on the first drive, culminating with a 41-yard touchdown to J.P. Henderlight.
“The fact that we passed the ball so much tonight was predicated by Wayne County’s defense,” said Cobb. “They were bringing a lot of pressure with the blitz, and we like to be aggressive against an attacking defense and take advantage of the openings they leave.
“I do feel that we had too many drops tonight. Without the drops this could have been a really special night for the passing game.”
Wayne County answered Somerset’s opening touchdown with one of their own, a 22 yard run by Chris Burks.
But that would be it for the Cardinals. Somerset answered on the next drive, with Scott Spears taking a quarterback draw into the end zone from 11 yards out too give them the lead for good, 14-7.
In past weeks this game would have turned into a shootout, with both teams trading scores until the scoreboard looked like a pinball machine. But this week, the defenses controlled the middle of the game. The next eight possessions would pass without a score until midway through the third quarter.
Somerset went on a 14 play drive that saw them march 75 yards for the go ahead score on a short pass to Henderlight, giving the Briar Jumpers a 21-7 lead.
Then, on the Jumpers next drive, Spears hit Josh Troxtle with a short pass. Troxtle seemed bottled up, but broke out of the pack and down the sideline for a 47-yard touchdown.
“I thought Josh Troxtle played very well tonight in the receiving game,” said Cobb. Troxtle, who rushed for four touchdowns last week, did his damage mainly through the air Friday night, catching fives passes for 139 yards and a touchdown.
Spears spread the ball to several receivers. Hunter Nelson and Storm Wilson each caught six passes, and J. P. Henderlight caught four passes, two of which went for touchdowns. On the night, Spears had outstanding numbers, passing for 357 yards and four touchdowns without throwing an interception.
“I thought Scott did a good job of getting us into the right play and getting the ball into where we could do something with it,” said Cobb. “He and Hunter Nelson did a good job of working the defense and completing those intermediate passes that moved the chains. They did a good job of not forcing it and taking what the defense gave us.”
Unfortunately, the game was marred by an injury to Michael Phelps in the second quarter. The big lineman, a key to Somerset’s ability to control the line of scrimmage, had to be helped off the field, and spent the second half in street clothes and walking on crutches.
“We’re not sure of the extent of the injury,” said Cobb. “It’s his right knee, which is obviously a big concern to us, but until we get further word from the doctor we just won’t know how serious it is.”
One injury that has kept the Jumpers from playing at full strength has been Derrick Jackson’s sprained ankle. Somerset’s leading rusher missed the entire Garrard County game, but got some limited touches Friday against Wayne County. Though he only had 12 yards on seven carries, Cobb said that he saw some good signs.
“Derrick said it was feeling better and he wanted to try to play,” said Cobb. “We didn’t do a very good job of blocking for him, but on his touchdown run he planted hard on that ankle and turned it up field with authority. That’s the kind of confidence we want to see out of him right now. We wanted to get him some limited game action this week, and we have a bye next week. Hopefully he’ll be at full strength when we take the field again.”
The win runs Somerset’s record to 3-2 on the season and 2-1 in the district.
WC — 7 0 0 0 —7
SHS — 7 7 14 13 — 41
S — Spears 41 pass to Henderlight (Ortiz PAT)
WC — Burks 22 run (Flach PAT)
S — Spears 11 run (Ortiz PAT)
S — Spears 7 pass to Henderlight (Ortiz PAT)
S — Spears 47 pass to Troxtle (Ortiz PAT)
S — Spears 22 pass to Wilson (Ortiz PAT)
S — Jackson 7 run (kick failed)
RUSHING — WC, Stephenson 15-123, Burks 10-69, Hall 12-43, Wright 1-4, Rhule 3-3; SHS, Troxtle 6-41, Boyle 3-19, Jackson 7-12, Spears 3-11, Lange 2-9, Miller 1-0, Carr 1—3.
RECEIVING — WC, Hall 2- -6, Burks 1-27, Rhule 1-5; SHS, Wilson 6-73, Nelson 6-71, Troxtle 5-139, Henderlight 4-68, Boyle 1-7.
PASSING —WC, Stephenson 4-13-0 26; SHS, Spears 22-37-4 357.
INT. — SHS, J. Jones.
