Wilmington struggles in loss to Hickory
Wilmington (0) vs. Hickory (41)
Written: Oct 11, 2014
By Ron Poniewasz Jr.
New Castle News
HERMITAGE — Things started off badly and quickly snowballed out of control for the Wilmington High football team last night.
Greyhounds quarterback Cody Llewellyn threw an interception on the first play of the game and four plays later, Hickory was in the end zone.
It was an act that was repeated frequently.
Adding insult was Llewellyn’s departure early in the third quarter with an apparent right knee injury.
It all added up to a 41-0 District 10, nonregion Hornets victory last night over visiting Wilmington.
It’s the second-straight win for Hickory over the Greyhounds. Last year, the Hornets rolled to a 42-6 decision. Last year’s game was a Region 3-AA clash, but the Greyhounds dropped to Class A prior to this season.
“It was one of those games,” Wilmington coach Terry Verrelli said of last night’s contest. “They’re a good football team. You have to have players that are experienced and ready to go against that and we didn’t.
“This wasn’t our night.”
The Greyhounds (4-2) took the opening kickoff and Llewellyn fired a pass intended for wide receiver Marc Peoples. The ball bounced off Peoples into the waiting arms of Dante’ Wallace.
Wallace hauled the ball in around the Greyhounds’ 30 and he was finally brought down at the 4.
“We’ve got to catch the ball,” Verrelli said. “We knew we had to throw the football. We just didn’t get it done. We’re not even close to being the team they are.”
Wilmington’s defense didn’t make it easy for the Hornets. Hickory quarterback Luke Brennan was stopped on third-and-goal at the 1 on a quarterback sneak, setting up fourth down.
The Hornets (5-2) elected to go for it and Charles Carr collected the first of his four rushing touchdowns, this one coming from a yard out.
“I don’t know. I just think that eventually it would have shown up before four quarters,” Verrelli said on a potential stop swinging the momentum to his squad. “Line-wise, we weren’t any match for them.”
Wilmington’s best drive came on its third possession in the middle of the opening quarter. The Greyhounds marched 63 yards to the Hornets’ 17.
But a false start penalty was followed by a short run by Llewellyn and a completion to Kyle Slicker for another short gain. Two sacks forced Wilmington to turn the ball over on downs at the 35.
“I think that we have a good passing game,” Verrelli said. “We have good receivers.
“What happened after that was we couldn’t pass-block them. After that, case closed. Now you’ve got no passing game and you’re not moving the ball on the ground, either. You’re in deep trouble when you can’t protect the quarterback.”
Hickory led 7-0 after one quarter and 31-0 at the half.
Things got worse for the Greyhounds early in the third quarter. Jordan Wombacker booted a 38-yard field goal and Llewellyn was injured on the play. He was on the ground for a few minutes before walking slowly to the sideline favoring his right knee.
“Someone chopped his leg,” Verrelli said.
Reese Bender filled in for Llewellyn and was 3 of 4 for 22 yards. Llewellyn was 3 of 9 for 52 yards with a pair of interceptions.
The Greyhounds managed just five first downs and 93 yards of total offense.
Wilmington returns to action against Region 1-A leader Lakeview (4-1 region, 6-1 overall) at 7 p.m. Friday on the road. The Greyhounds are right behind at 3-1 in league play.
(Email: rponiewasz@ncnewsonline.com)
WILMINGTON HICKORY
5 First downs 16
63 Yards Rushing 188
44 Yards Lost 8
19 Net Rushing 180
13 Passes Attempted 12
6 Passes Completed 7
2 Passes Intercepted 0
74 Yards Passing 47
93 Total Yards 227
1-0 Fumbles-Lost 4-1
7-38.1 Punts-Average 2-34.5
3-35 Penalties-Yards 1-15
WILMINGTON 0 0 0 0 — 0
HICKORY 7 24 3 7 — 41
Scoring plays
HICKORY — Charles Carr, 1-yard run (Jordan Wombacker kick).
HICKORY — Wombacker, 44-yard field goal.
HICKORY — Luke Brennan, 10-yard run (Wombacker kick).
HICKORY — Carr, 12-yard run (Wombacker kick).
HICKORY — Carr, 1-yard run (Wombacker kick).
HICKORY — Wombacker, 38-yard field goal.
HICKORY — Carr, 4-yard run (Wombacker kick).
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