’Hounds no match for Hickory in the trenches
Wilmington (6) vs. Hickory (42)
Written: Sep 14, 2013
By Corey J. Corbin
New Castle News
HERMITAGE — Big plays and big guys were the keys to a “big” victory for Hickory last night.
Led by dominating efforts in the trenches by their offensive and defensive lines, the Hornets scored three times on plays 35 yards or longer — and had another set up by a long run — in a 42-6 thumping of Wilmington in District 10, Region 3-AA action at Hickory Hornet Stadium.
“We felt all week that we had to win the line of scrimmage,” Hornets coach Bill Brest said. “We felt we won the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball tonight. Tonight, it’s all about the boys ... how they practiced on the field and how they prepared in the film room. It’s about their execution and desire to win this ball game.”
After a scoreless first quarter, De’quan Lewis notched the Hornets’ first big-play touchdown courtesy of a 35-yard scamper on third-and-five, with Jordan Wombacker providing the first of his six extra points.
On Hickory’s next possession, Matt Voytik connected with Lewis for a 30-yard strike to the Wilmington 1 and two plays later, Lewis bounced off a Greyhounds tackler and into the end zone to put Hickory (1-1 region, 2-1 overall) up 14-0 at the break.
Andrew Pryts took center stage next in the big play department by taking a short kickoff to open the second half and racing 74 yards for a 21-0 lead. Moments later after a Wilmington punt, Davon Tindall took an end-around 80 yards to the Wilmington 1 before Lou Derloni burst through the line for a 1-yard score.
On the fourth quarter’s first play, Derloni burst 55 yards for another Hickory score and after Zechariah Sewell pounced on a Wilmington fumble on the ensuing kickoff, Voytik found Pryts for a 10-yard scoring strike and a 42-0 edge.
Wilmington’s lone bright spot came on Riley Kollar’s 40-yard fumble return for a touchdown after Hickory’s reserves botched a handoff with 3:13 left in the game.
“They’re a good team and we knew that coming in,” Wilmington coach Terry Verrelli said. “We knew they had several guys that could run. That’s always your worry, because they have so many (fast players) that you can’t key on just one. You have to play football. When (the other team) has a bunch of guys with speed, that turns into a problem, which it did tonight.”
After crossing midfield on their first possession of the game, the ‘Hounds (0-2 region, 1-2 overall) failed to do so the rest of the game and finished with just 114 yards of total offense, including just 41 yards on the ground.
“We’re big up front and they manhandled us on both sides of the ball,” Verrelli said. “We couldn’t block them and we couldn’t get off their blocks. I don’t know what else to say.”
Meanwhile, the Hornets rushed for 263 yards and posted 334 yards of total offense with Derloni and Tindall combining for 157 yards on the ground.
“They were the better team tonight,” Verrelli said. “There’s no question about it. We’re going to go back and we have to get better. I’m not upset about what happened. We have to go back and improve from this. We have to get better in all phases of the game. We are young, but that’s not an excuse. We have to get better.
“When you have young kids, you don’t know how they’re going to play from game-to-game. When the going gets tough, that’s when young guys just don’t quite understand how to gut it out and what’s the right thing to do. That’s a learning situation. I think that showed up tonight.”
(Email: C_Corbin@ncnewsonline.com)
WILMINGTON HICKORY
5 First downs 10
73 Yards Rushing 273
32 Yards Lost 10
41 Net Rushing 263
8 Passes Attempted 8
3 Passes Completed 4
1 Passes Intercepted 0
73 Yards Passing 71
114 Total Yards 334
4-2 Fumbles-Lost 5-0
6-34.0 Punts-Average 2-41.0
6-36 Penalties-Yards 6-65
WILMINGTON 0 0 0 6 — 6
HICKORY 0 14 14 14 — 42
Scoring plays
HICKORY — De’quan Lewis, 35-yard run (Jordan Wombacker kick).
HICKORY — Lewis, 1-yard run (Wombacker kick).
HICKORY — Andrew Pryts, 74-yard kickoff return (Wombacker kick).
HICKORY — Lou Derloni, 1-yard run (Wombacker kick).
HICKORY — Derloni, 55-yard run (Wombacker kick).
HICKORY — Pryts, 10-yard pass from Matt Voytik (Wombacker kick).
WILMINGTON — Riley Kollar, 40-yard fumble return (kick failed).
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