Football: W.T. Woodson 20, T.C. Williams 6

By Phil Murphy

Senior Multimedia/Content Manager, Washington D.C. Metro Area

**Game story posted for all the readers. Highlights and photos available at the top-left for people like me.**

Woodson and T.C. Williams both entered with underrated defenses, ranked in the top five in Division 6 in points per game allowed.

Saturday’s meeting in Alexandria did nothing to hurt that statistic.

Rain bogging down the two spread offenses didn’t either.

The Cavaliers held the Titans to three net yards over 34 second- and third-quarter plays, beating them, 20-6, on their Homecoming through a continuous downpour.

T.C. Williams and Woodson combined for 21 three-and-out offensive series. The Cavaliers forced 12.

“That’s one thing we learned this year — after the playoff loss[, 72-47, to West Springfield] last year where we gave up all the points. We felt like, during the offseason, the thing we needed to do was make the defense stronger,” Cavalier coach Trey Taylor said.

“They were a little slow at the beginning of the year, but the last three games they’ve really come on strong.”

Added senior linebacker Josh Hogan on the 12 three-and-outs: “That’s a team goal right there. Usually, we have to get three and we got [12]. That’s great for us.”

Hogan had a game-high 12 tackles, an interception, a fumble forced and a fumble recovery.

He anchored a linebacking corps that wreaked havoc on T.C. Williams for the final 47 minutes Saturday.

Titan senior Cortez Taylor broke free for a 61-yard touchdown on the second play from scrimmage to give the hosts a 6-0 lead. Other than that run, Woodson allowed 45 yards on 57 plays and no points.

On Taylor’s run, Cavalier junior linebacker Logan Hancock was stacked behind the defensive tackle, reading the play in the backfield. That was the last snap Hancock did not blitz off the edge.

He finished with nine tackles, second only to Hogan. Two were for loss, two were for no gain and one forced a turnover on downs.

“The [Titans] have great athletes out there — better athletes than we have — and we didn’t want to be running with them downfield,” said Taylor, whose team did not allow a first down in the second half. “We just wanted to get to [the quarterback] before he could get the ball off.”

Added Hancock: “I love my position. I think coming off the edge every time, getting myself hyped, getting my team hyped, making the quarterback scared, that’s a good feeling.

“It was a really good defensive game. We all just stuck our gaps and the scoreboard showed it.”

Email: pmurphy@digitalsports.com

Box Score 1 2 3 4 — F

W.T. Woodson 0 6 6 8 — 20
T.C. Williams 6 0 0 0 — 6

Scoring Plays

1Q — TC — C. Taylor 61 run (kick blocked) — 11:14
2Q — WT — Johnson 10 run (kick failed) — 10:17

3Q — WT — Ngampa 27 run (run failed) — 5:21
4Q — WT — Stokes 5 run (Hogan from Reilly) — 2:43

Passing
WT – Reilly – 11-for-22, 50 yards.
TC – Murphy – 3-for-22, 25 yards, 2 INT.

Rushing

WT – Stokes – 20
car, 129 yards, TD; Ngampa – 3 car, 27 yards, TD; Johnson – 5 car, 24
yards, TD; Reilly – 14 car, -4 yards.
TC – C. Taylor – 13 car, 88 yards, TD; Garner
– 4 car, 12 yards;
Jenkins – 3 car, 1
yard; Carter – 5 car, -1 yard; Rossi – 1 car, -3 yards; Murphy – 2
car, -5 yards; Crawley – 1 car, -13 yards.

Receiving

WT – Le – 2
rec, 19 yards; Breslin – 2 rec, 15 yards; Fridley – 3 rec, 13 yards; Stokes – 1 rec, 9 yards; Hogan – 1 rec, 4 yards; Johnson – 1 rec, 1 yard; Dunn – 1 rec, -11 yards.
TC – Conteh – 2 rec, 15 yards; Coker – 1 rec, 10 yards.
Total Yards
WT – 226. TC – 106.
Leading Tacklers
WT – Hogan – 12; Hancock – 9; Johnson – 6. TC – Richardson – 9; Abbe – 7; Isley – 7; Benton – 6; Roy – 5; Sanders – 4.
Times Targeted
WT – Le – 6; Breslin – 4; Fridley – 4; Hogan – 2; Stokes – 2; Johnson – 2; Dunn – 1; Collins – 1. TC – Conteh – 5; Jenkins – 5; Carter – 4; Garner – 4; Coker – 3; C. Taylor – 1.
Time of Possession (First Half TOP)
WT – 26:04 (11:08). TC – 21:56 (12:52).
First Downs (Total; Run-Pass-Penalty)
WT – 12; 10-2-0. TC – 3; 2-1-0.
Three-and-Outs Forced
WT – 12. TC – 9.