Blue Devils drop third straight
WHITE HOUSE – The White House High football team dropped its third game in a row as visiting Springfield left with a 24-7 win in a Region 5-4A showdown on Friday night at Dewey H. Whitson Stadium.
The win moved Springfield to 2-0 in the region, while the Blue Devils fell to 0-2.
“It’s big for us to move to 2-0 in the region,” Springfield head coach Dustin Wilson said. “If you can stay that way, obviously, you can control your own destiny. That’s our goal right now.”
Springfield (3-2 overall) only needed 80 seconds on the first possession of the game as the Yellow Jackets rambled 66 yards in only four plays, with senior Isiah Bigbee scoring from 12 yards out.
White House (2-3) looked poised to answer as the Blue Devils moved the ball down to the Yellow Jacket 16 yard line, aided by two pass interference calls on the drive. However, Logan Trimmer missed a 34-yard field goal.
Despite the Yellow Jackets’ 14 first downs in the opening half, the Blue Devil defense was able to hold the visitors to only an additional field goal as Springfield took a 10-0 lead into the locker room at halftime.
“This was probably our best effort of the year,” White House head coach Jeff Porter said. “I thought we played very well on defense in the first half.”
The Blue Devil offense was undermanned as they started their third different quarterback this season. They were also missing their leading rusher as well. Senior tailback Trey Hyde will be out for the season after suffering a knee injury during the Greenbrier game last week.
“This is a great learning lesson for these kids,” Porter said about the injuries. “You never know when your number is going to be called, and you have to be prepared when it is.”
The Yellow Jackets started the second half off just as they did the first, with a touchdown drive. Junior quarterback Dewayne Buckner scored on a 45-yard run for a 17-0 lead.
White House was able to answer the Springfield score, after senior Denis Schaffer recovered a Yellow Jacket fumble deep in Springfield territory. Junior tailback Preston Long put the Blue Devils on the board with a 3-yard touchdown run.
Springfield sealed the game on its next possession though, using a 16-play drive to move 80 yards for a 24-7 lead.
“Our kids fought hard, and I really believe this is something we can build upon,” Porter said. “But it’s up to us, our kids and our football program. A good effort is one thing, but you have to build upon it.”
White House plays at Sycamore on Friday.
Springfield | 7 | 3 | 7 | 7 | — | 24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
White House | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | — | 7 |
s – Isiah Bigbee 35 run. Dakota Carlisle kick. S – Carlisle 29 kick. S – Dewayne Buckner 45 run. Carlisle kick. WH – Preston Long 3 run. Logan Trimmer kick. S – Alan Gardner 2 run. Carlisle kick.
S | WH | |
|---|---|---|
First Downs | 23 | 6 |
Rushes-Yards | 45-278 | 29-56 |
Comp-Att-Int | 12-19-0 | 1-5-0 |
Passing Yards | 156 | -3 |
Fumbles-Lost | 3-2 | 2-0 |
Punts-Avg. | 0-0 | 6-38 |
Penalties-Yards | 10-85 | 2-10 |
RUSHING
Springfield – Alan Gardner 16-95, Dewayne Buckner 9-70, Isiah Bigbee 8-52, Dayron Johnson 3-28, Ke’Lein Jones 6-25, Daniel Lawson 2-11, Keith Jones 1-(-3).
White House – Preston Long 11-54, Ronald Honeycutt 3-13, Josh Flynn 8-13, Austin Grissom 1-1, Jake White 1-1, Hunter Brown 5-(-26).
PASSING
Springfield – Dewayne Buckner 12-19-0-156.
White House – Hunter Brown 1-5-0-(-3).
RECEIVING
Springfield– Talirico Cogshell 7-108, Kyler Beerman 2-26, Peyton Hix 3-22.
White House – Preston Long 1-(-3).