WEATHERFORD —
With the Roos’ on-side kick to begin the District 3-5A contest on Friday, Weatherford began its night on a good note. The ploy worked as designed, with WHS recovering the ball, booted by the Arlington Lamar receiving teams’ front line. The Roos took possession on their own 49-yard line, and were poised to make inroads to an early lead over the Vikings.
Unfortunately, the sweet early notes quickly soured for Weatherford, as the offense was unable to get on track through the entirety of the first two quarters. A trio of three-and-out possessions tainted the opening period, while Lamar scored with all three of its first-quarter offensive series.
When the Roo offense did get revved-up in the second half, the resurgence proved too little-too late as Weatherford fell to the Vikes, 41-14.
Trying to loosen up the running game, many of the on-or-near target passes by starting Weatherford quarterback Colton Mallory were dropped, effectively halting efforts to get on the board before the break. It would be the third quarter before the passing game would show up for WHS.
Lamar fared better moving the ball, using big plays for big chunks of yardage and favorable field position. The Vikes leading rusher, Cameron Smith (163 yards on 9 carries), took Lamar’s first play from scrimmage 61 yards, setting the tone for the opening half.
Vikes QB Charlie Baird kept the threat through the air relevant for Lamar much of the contest, and was mostly on target, completing 18 of 22 attempts while topping 270 yards and three aerial scores.
There were a few highlights for Roo fans in the first half, with junior slotback Chris Whitling providing the footage.
Whitling proved to be the most prevalent threat to turn the corner on the Lamar defenders, and did so repeatedly. The swift slotback finished the night with 116 yards on 10 carries, also catching a pass for 12.
The cylinders finally started firing for the Roo offense out of the locker room. A drive in the third culminated with a 1-yard bolt into the end zone by an untouched Jeukwan Brownlee. In the final quarter, Grant Werts took a keeper 8 yards for another score.
Prior to the start of the game, Weatherford still had a mathematical chance to achieve the postseason, and controlled its own fate. With the loss, the Roos (1-5 in district, 2-7 overall) are eliminated from playoff contention and will play their final game of the season at Wilemon Field in Arlington on Friday. The match against Arlington Sam Houston pits teams with identical records, and is set for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.
Arlington Lamar 41 Weatherford 14
LHS 17 17 0 7 — 34
WHS 0 0 7 7 — 14
LHS — Aeron Daniels 10 run (Ryan Jacobs kick)
LHS — Jacobs 22 field goal
LHS — Cameron Smith 6 run (Jacobs kick)
LHS — Jacobs 44 field goal
LHS — Charlie Baird 30 pass to Kavonta Mayweather (Jacobs kick)
LHS — Baird 16 pass to Mayweather (Jacobs kick)
WHS — Jeuqwan Brownlee 1 run (Trey Rich kick)
LHS — Baird 10 pass to DaQuan Thomas (Jacobs kick)
WHS — Grant Werts 8 run (Rich kick)
Team Stats LHS WHS
First Downs 27 14
Rushes-Yards 37-276 34-221
Passing Yards 282 43
Comp-Att-Int 19-24-0 3-14-1
Total Yards 558 264
Penalties-Yards 8-75 7-76
Fumbles-Lost 1-1 1-0
Punts-Avg. N/A 5-37.1
Individual Leaders:
Rushing — LHS: Smith 9-163, Daniels 6-40; WHS: Chris Whitling 10-116, Brownlee 6-37.
Passing — LHS: Baird 18-22-0-3, 272 yards;
WHS: Werts 2-8-0-0, 29.
Receiving — LHS: Thomas 10-114, Mayweather 4-84; WHS: Joseph Hutchinson 1-24, Whitling 1-12.
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