W.S. Neal still looking for a score
Published 1:00 am Saturday, September 4, 2010
For the second straight week, the W.S. Neal Eagles were held scoreless as they lost a 47-0 region game to the UMS-Wright Bulldogs.
UMS-Wright never looked back after scoring 26 points in the first quarter and 14 in the second to lead 40-0 at halftime.
The Bulldogs racked up 328 total yards of offense in the big win, with 240 coming on the ground and 88 in the air — all in the first half. The Bulldogs had 240 yards of offense in the first half with 125 on the ground and 115 in the air.
W.S. Neal was held to 80 total yards of offense with 17 on the ground and 63 in the air.
UMS-Wright Bulldog running back Chris Dukes had 110 yards on eight carries with four touchdowns to lead in the win.
“I thought our kids fought and I thought they played hard,” W.S. Neal Eagle head coach Kevin Jordan said. “That is what we ask for them before the game. I felt like they did that and I am proud of them for the effort we gave. It was still some of the same problems basically there early in the first half with our tackling. We were tackling a good back and he has broken a lot of tackles in his high school career. With that being said, we are not getting enough guys around the ball to make tackles. And then, offensively, we could just not get anything going. Field position wise we were backed up the whole first half. I think the average field position for them in the first half was our 27-yard line. So we lost the field position battle early in the game. Again, I was proud of our guys for battling.”
The shutout for the Eagles not only marked their second straight in 2010, but third straight dating back to last season after losing to T.R. Miller 34-0 in the season finale.
Also dating back to last year, it was the Eagles’ fifth shutout on offense in their last six games.
“That is a good question,” Jordan said of what it will take for the Eagles to put points on the scoreboard. “I don’t know. We are just executing on offense in any facet of the game really. There are times when we have plays that are open whether it be a passing play or running play and we just don’t execute. We miss a block here or drop a pass or a bad throw. We had two or three guys open tonight and we did not get them the ball. We had dropped balls and those types of things, so it is just an execution thing. If I had a magic wand, I would use it here, but I don’t. We are working everyday and will continue to work. We certainly have not given up on these kids and these kids have not given up on us. We have got to get some first downs and sustain some drives and keep our defense off the field. We are not doing that.”
UMS-Wright led 7-0 with 8:31 left in the first quarter after Dukes’ first touchdown. The next score came after an Eagle interception as the Bulldogs needed only on play to lead 13-0 with 7:32 left in the first.
Dukes then scored his second touchdown with 3:13 left in the first to lead 19-0 and UMS-Wright would score again with 1:35 left in the first to lead 26-0.
In the second, Dukes scored on a 36-yard run to lead 33-0 and again on a 5-yard run to lead 40-0 with 4:35 left before the half.
UMS-Wright’s final touchdown came with 9:37 left in the third quarter to get the win 47-0.
Damion Williams and Marquese Banks led W.S. Neal rushing with five yards each.
Dylan Godwin was 7-for-15 with two interceptions and 49 yards.
Ashton Elliott led at the receiver spot with two catches for 22 yards.
W.S. Neal will take on Jackson next week at home.
“Jackson is big and powerful and they are going to be a little bit different from this UMS team in the fact that they are going to be bigger and more powerful,” Jordan said. “They will be a good football team.”