Tyson Wilcox

By DAN BISER
Sports Editor

DUBLIN - Despite some sporadic play, particularly on the defensive side of the football, Whiteville High coach Mark Little was still upbeat about his team’s performance Friday night as it left the field with a 21-12 season-opening victory over the host West Bladen Knights.

“There were some rough spots tonight, and we let several big opportunities get away from us … but for the first night out, I think we did okay,” said Little, whose Wolfpack held a 7-6 halftime lead. “There’s no question that we have to get better in a lot of areas, but we started playing more as a team in the second half tonight, and that was encouraging.”

The defending Waccamaw 1A-2A Conference champion Whiteville squad had to overcome a strong challenge by the West Bladen running game in taking the season opener. Coach Raymond Marlowe’s Knights rolled up 140 yards rushing in the first half and that’s a total that Whiteville rarely allowed in an entire game last season.

“We have a lot of new people on defense,” Little said. “We’re still trying to get things put things together there. We had trouble containing their running game, especially in the first half, but our kids came up with some big stops when it counted.”
The Whiteville offense was led by senior backs Jarrod McKinney and Tyson Wilcox. McKinney carried the ball 21 times for 91 yards and had a pair of five-yard touchdown runs. Wilcox carried 13 times for 84 yards and scored on a seven-yard run.
Senior quarterback Ben Deans completed only two passes, but both were Edward Brown - for 27 and 44 yards – and were key plays of the final two WHS scoring drives. Zack Stanley was perfect on all three point-after touchdown kicks and he boomed two kickoffs into the end zone.

West Bladen was led by 6-foot-4,, 220-pound quarterback Austin Hillis, who kept the Knights in the game with a 28-yard touchdown scramble and Vince Allen, who scored the game’ first touchdown on a five-yard run. Kendrik McKoy and Terrance Autry also contributed to the Knight ground attack. West Bladen finished the night with 256 total rushing yards.

West Bladen lost the services of senior two-way back Matt McCall, who suffered a leg injury while returning a first-quarter kickoff.

The Knights opened the game’s scoring on their second possession, moving the ball 61 yards in 10 plays. Autry had three key runs to spur the drive and Allen got the touchdown on a five-yard sweep with 2 minutes, 32 seconds left in the first quarter. A bad snap on the extra-point attempt left the score at 6-0.

Whiteville came right back with a TD of its own after 150-pound junior Dequan Thompson returned the ensuing kickoff 36 yards to the West Bladen 41-yard line. The Wolfpack used 11 plays to score with McKinney blasting in from the five-yard line with 9:48 left in the second quarter. Stanley’s extra point kick made the score 7-6.

West Bladen quickly moved the ball back into scoring territory when McKoy ripped off a 30-yard run on the Knights’ next snap from scrimmage. The Knights moved the ball to the Wolfpack six-yard line, where they were stopped on a fourth-down play on a big hit by Wolfpack linebacker Josh Lennon.

Whiteville scored on its first possession of the second half, driving 58 yards in nine plays. A 31-yard pass from Deans to Brown – with Brown falling to the ground to make the catch – gave Whiteville the ball at the WB nine-yard line. Wilcox scored from the seven on third down and Stanley kicked the extra point for a 14-6 WHS edge with 4:42 left in the third quarter.

West Bladen came right back with a 40-yard run by Allen and that set up the Hillis’ 28-yard TD run. Hillis’ run caught the WHS defense off guard as he sprinted out of the pocket, burst away from three defenders and bulled his way into the end zone.

The Knights went for a two-point conversion attempt to knot the score, but Whiteville’s Chris Ward came up with a big defensive play, bringing Knight flanker D.J. McNair to the turf on a reverse attempt to keep the score at 14-12 with three minutes left in the third quarter.

A 44-yard third-down pass from Deans to Brown to the eight-yard line late in the final quarter set up the third Wolfpack touchdown. McKinney scored on another five-yard run and Stanley’s PAT kick made the score 21-12 with 2:52 remaining.
The game ended with Whiteville in possession at the WB 14-yard line.

George Spearman was the leading tackler for Whiteville with 11, followed by Lennon with 10.
Neither team committed a turnover.

The game marked the fifth straight season-opening victory for Whiteville, which is coming off back-to-back 9-3 seasons.
Whiteville will make a return trip to Bladen County this Friday to take on the two-time defending Southeastern 1A-2A Conference champion East Bladen Eagles.

WB – Vince Allen 5 run (kick failed).
W – Jarrod McKinney 5 run (Zack Stanley kick).
W - Tyson Wilcox 7 run (Stanley kick).
WB – Austin Hillis 28 run (run failed).
W – McKinney 5 run (Stanley kick).