Wenonah Downs Winless Holt, Improves to 3-2 On the Season
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The Wenonah Dragons (3-2) dominated the winless Holt Ironmen (0-5) 33-6 on the road on Friday night to get its third win of the season.
Wenonah's head coach Nick Howard spoke about how important getting a win was to him and his team, especially after a tough game at Jasper the week before.
"We needed it. We needed it as a confidence booster if anything else," said Howard. "To finish the game at 33-6, it's good for the program, it's good for the morale, and it's good for the confidence of the kids."
Wenonah started off the game with good field position at the Holt 40-yard line. The Dragons were able to move the ball downfield in a few plays and punch into the end zone with a six-yard rush from junior quarterback Anthony Young.
Holt immediately responded to the Wenonah touchdown, courtesy of senior wide receiver Jaylen Vaughn returning the kickoff to the house, for an 81-yard touchdown. A missed point after attempt kept the score at 7-6, Wenonah.
The game went to the second quarter before the Dragons struck again. After a couple of traded possessions, Young spurred a drive downfield by using his feet for a big gain into Holt territory. Young capped off the drive with an 18-yard rushing touchdown, his second of the day.
In the last few minutes of the second quarter, Wenonah scored once again on a 16-yard touchdown pass from Young to junior wide receiver De'Marcus Johnson.
"Trey (Young) is one of those kids that finds joy and comfort on the field," said Howard. "Trey will leave it on the field. He plays quarterback, he plays safety, he does it all and he's a good student."
The third quarter had no scoring between either team due to it mainly being taken up by Holt's second possession of the quarter. The drive made it all the way to the Wenonah 12-yard line, including two fourth down conversions, before the Ironmen fumbled the ball. That drive was the closest the Holt offense made it to the end zone.
After finally getting the ball back, the Dragons used the possession to score, by way of junior strong safety Kelvin Peoples with a 45-yard rushing touchdown.
On the next Wenonah possession, the Dragons once again had good field possession due to a short punt and a good return by Young. A few plays later, senior outside linebacker Keyno Byrd ran it in from the one-yard line for the final touchdown of the game.
"We could've played a lot better," said Howard. "I'm going to let them celebrate tonight and tomorrow, and Sunday we got to go back to work."
Holt, still looking for its first win of the season, will play at home against West Blocton next week.
Wenonah looks to get its second straight win at home in a regional matchup against Ramsay.