(Story by Ethan Collins)
WILLIAMSTOWN, W.Va. — The Fort Frye Cadets dominated the Williamstown Yellowjackets in the second half, outscoring them 20-0 after halftime to go on to win 41-9.
“When you make mistakes against teams like this, they make you pay,” said Williamstown head coach Chris Beck. “That’s a very physical team and you lose Max (Molessa), and then Trevor (Oates) is out. Still, those guys are as good as anyone we’ve played and as good as anyone we will play, just like last year.”
The Cadets (7-1) are ranked No. 1 in Ohio Region 23 of Division VI and certainly proved their worth against the No. 6 Yellowjackets (6-2). Williamstown was able to score first, off of a Fort Frye mistake. The snap went over the punter’s head and rolled out of the back of the end zone resulting in a safety.
The Cadets were able to respond, scoring 21 unanswered points. Just before halftime, Williamstown was able to get an interception in opponent territory. Backup quarterback Colton Hesson threw a pass toward the end zone, and found tight end Kent Wigal for an amazing one-handed catch. This gave the Yellowjackets a small amount of hope before the halftime break.
“I thought we responded well. We lose our quarterback and only down 21-9. I’m not into moral victories, but I thought it showed our kids competitiveness.”
Things only went downhill from there, as Williamstown was held to under 100 yards of total offense while Fort Frye was an extra point away from matching their points in the first half and had over 150 yards in the second half.
Next week, Williamstown faces one of their most important games of the season as they host No. 1 Doddridge Co. (6-0).
“They are a physical team like we saw tonight, they beat a very good Ritchie team. Coach Burnside and his staff do a great job and we know we’re going to be in for a physical game next Friday.”