Coyotes pass by Cleburne early for Freeman's first win
CLEBURNE - Things didn't go like Wichita Falls High School wanted in its 2017 season opener at home.
But the first road trip turned out quite nicely as Grant Freeman's Coyotes got off the bus ready to play, taking a 21-0 lead to dominate Cleburne, 40-21.
"We came out and hit them in the passing game early," Freeman said. "They made a focused effort to stop our run. And our defense played excellent; we were able to get pressure on the quarterback."
It was 21-7 Coyotes at halftime thanks to Zach Williams' touchdown passes to Isaiah Johnson and Jordan Hatton and a TD run by James McKinney. But the coach thought the end of the second quarter was "Helter-Skelter."
"We talked to them at halftime and then got our defense back out there and they got a stop and it perked things up," Freeman said. "There was energy throughout and we were rolling a lot of kids in. We were able to put the nail in the coffin and I was really pleased."
Williams, a sophomore, passed for 222 yards and four touchdowns. Hatton caught three of those (32, 35, 36 yards) and finished with five catches for 144 yards. A.J. Byrd led the run game with 60 yards on six carries.
WFHS | 14 | 7 | 13 | 6 | — | 40 |
Cleburne | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | — | 21 |
FIRST QUARTER
WFHS – Isaiah Johnson, 13-yard pass from Zach Williams (Alex Ramirez kick) 7:21
WFHS – Jordon Hatton, 32-yard pass from Williams (Ramirez kick) 5:44
SECOND QUARTER
WFHS – James McKinney 13-yard run (Ramirez kick) 11:43
C – Jamari Bradly 8-yard pass from Carson Gann (Leo Vasquez kick) 5:31
THIRD QUARTER
WFHS – Hatton 35-yard pass from Williams (Ramirez kick) 7:12
C – Isaak Cunningham 14-yard pass from Gann (Vasquez kick) 2:15
WFHS – Hatton 36-yard pass from Williams (kick failed) 1:38
FOURTH QUARTER
WFHS – Marcus King 4-yard run (kick failed) 6:12
C – Shane Eiler 14-yard pass from Gann (Vasquez kick) 5:18
WFHS | C | |
First downs | 17 | 15 |
Rushes-Yards | 35-156 | 24-42 |
Passing | 222 | 270 |
Comp-Att-Int | 11-20-1 | 26-37-2 |
Punts | 6-29 | 5-27.4 |
Fumbles-Lost | 1-0 | 4-1 |
Penalties-Yards | 7-45 | 9-75 |
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — (WF) Marcus King 11-17, A.J. Byrd 6-60, Zach Williams 5-34, James McKinney 3-25, Ben McAfee 10-20; (C) Carson Gann 9-2, Philip Harris 13-40, Jamari Bradley 1-(-5), Jaxon Bigham 1-5.
PASSING — (WF) Zach Williams 11-20-1, 222 yards; (C) Carson Gann 26-37-2, 270 yards.
RECEIVING — (WF) Jordan Hatton 5-144, Isaiah Johnson 2-17, A.J. Byrd 4-61; (C) Shane Eiler 4-24, Jamari Bradley 6-81, Fred Eichholtz 6-54, Isaak Cunningham 7-99, Ethan Steck 1-13, Philip Harris 2-1.
RECORDS — WFHS 1-1; Cleburne 0-2.