Bulldog Special
Big punt returns help set the tone early for Waverly’s 60-14 victory over Flinthills
By Michael Ashford
Wednesday, November 1, 2006
Two big punt returns early sparked the Waverly Bulldogs to a 60-14 victory over Flinthills Tuesday night in the first round of the State playoffs.
After Flinthills’ first possession went three-and-out, Waverly’s Matt Coursen ran back a punt from Jeremy Jackson 43 yards to the Flinthills 14-yard line, and Waverly scored four plays later on a 9-yard pass from Dentin Chapman to Heath Redding to make it 6-0 after the two-point conversion failed.
Another three-and-out forced the Mustangs to punt again on their next possession, and this time, the Bulldogs struck even faster, as Casey Church ran 65 yards nearly untouched down the sideline to put the Bulldogs up by two scores at 14-0 after the two-point try was good.
“We strive to be good on special teams,” Chapman said. “A lot of teams lack special teams. We strive to be good there because we know field position is a big key for getting our offense out there on the right side of the field.”
Not that the Bulldog offense needed much help.
Waverly (10-0) scored on every offensive possession it had, racking up 253 yards of offense in just 28 plays for an average of 9 yards per play. Only one Bulldog play went for negative yardage, and the Bulldogs had short scoring drives of 29, 17 and 23 yards to quickly put the game out of reach, allowing Waverly to end the game after just one possession in the second half because of the 45-point mercy rule.
Meanwhile, the Bulldog defense held Flinthills (7-3) to 128 yards of offense and forced five three-and-outs.
Coursen carried the ball 10 times for 71 yards, caught a pass for six yards and scored one touchdown and two two-point conversions to lead the way for the Bulldogs.
“We played pretty well on offense and defense,” Waverly coach Mike Hevel said. “I thought our special teams play was good. Obviously, our line blocked really well. Dentin threw the ball really well. Matt Coursen, he had a tremendous game once again.
“The later in the half it got, the better he got. He had a great game, and I’m happy for our kids.”
But Flinthills coach Erik Sorum said the Mustangs’ undoing all started on special teams at the start the game — in more ways than one.
Not only did Flinthills give up the two big punt returns, but on the first punt, Jackson, who also is Flinthills’ quarterback, broke his hand trying to make a tackle.
Jackson went on to play five more series, but eventually surrendered the quarterbacking duties to Micah Womacks. Jackson finished 5-of-11 for 58 passing yards.
“I think our heads dropped a little bit after those first two punt returns,” Sorum said. “(Jackson) tried to play, but he didn’t have a good grip. Our heads might have dropped after that.”
Waverly moves on the face Kensington (9-1), which advanced thanks to a 46-0 win over Hanover. The game will be at 7 p.m. Saturday, with the location yet to be determined.
“It feels good to move on,” Chapman said. “I thought everybody played well. I thought our line busted their butts and drove well. Our running backs ran the ball hard, and I thought our receivers ran their routes well. It was a good win.”