Whiteville running back Anthony Bradford (left) is collared by a West Brunswick defender in Friday’s high-school football action at Legion Stadium. Whiteville defeated the visiting Trojans 28-0.

Staff photo by Fuller Royal

By DAN BISER
Sports Editor

Whiteville High senior back Tyson Wilcox ripped off an 85-yard touchdown run in the final seconds of the first half, and the WHS defense came across with its third straight shutout Friday night in the Wolfpack’s 28-0 non-conference football victory over the visiting West Brunswick Trojans.

Whiteville finished its non-conference schedule with a 4-1 record and will open Waccamaw 1A-2A Conference action this Friday when it travels to take on East Columbus.

“It’s good to see us with a 4-1 record and three straight shutouts,” said WHS head coach Mark Little, whose Wolfpack won the Waccamaw Conference title last year, “but the toughest part of our schedule lies ahead. I look for our conference to be stronger than it ever has been. The next seven weeks will be a huge challenge for our football team.”
West Brunswick saw its record drop to 0-4. The Trojans controlled the football for most of the second half with a conservative ground game.

The Whiteville defense, led by seniors George Spearman and Josh Lennon, thwarted West Brunswick’s only serious scoring threat in the first quarter, and also got a 43-yard pass interception return by Nur Abdullah in the fourth quarter to complete the game’s scoring.

The Whiteville ground attack rolled up 233 yards with Wilcox gaining 134 yards on nine carries. WHS quarterback Ben Deans threw the Wolfpack’s first touchdown pass of season, connecting with Edward Brown on a seven-yard slant pattern to open the game’s scoring in the first quarter.

Wilcox’s big touchdown run late in the half marked the first time that the Wolfpack had put up more than seven points in the first half this season. Wilcox had fumbled away a big WHS scoring opportunity inside the Trojan five-yard line earlier in the second quarter.

Little said that the WHS coaching staff had been looking for Wilcox to step up his game this season, especially since standout running back Jarrod McKinney had been out of action with a severe knee injury the past two weeks. McKinney, the Wolfpack’s leading rusher and scorer the past two years, could possibly miss the rest of the season.

Whiteville scored on its first possession of the night, marching 46 yards on seven plays and Deans hitting Brown with the seven-yard scoring pass on third down. Zack Stanley’s first of four extra point kicks made the score 7-0.

Wilcox’s long TD run came off a counter reverse and he stepped out of two tackles near the sideline while sprinting for the end zone with 34.2 seconds left in the half.

A 34-yard by Wilcox on the Wolfpack’s opening possession of the first half set a four-yard touchdown run by Lennon with 9 minutes, 37 seconds left in the third quarter.

Abdullah’s interception return came with 4:21 left in the half.

West Brunswick, which had advanced the ball to Whiteville eight-yard line in the first half behind a 59-yard pass play before being stopped on fourth down, was content to go with a tight running game the rest of the way.

Coach Jimmy Fletcher’s Trojans managed to control the football, but did not post a scoring threat. West Brunswick is off to its roughest start in football in nearly over three decades.

Trojan tailback Will Jordan carried 17 times for 136 yards.

Whiteville had taken shutout wins of 34-0 over Red Springs and 7-0 over West Columbus in each of the past two weeks.
Since becoming WHS head coach in 2002, Little has guided the Wolfpack to a record of 45 wins and 21 losses.

W – Edward Brown 7 pass from Ben Deans (Zack Stanley kick).
W - Tyson Wilcox 85 run (Stanley kick).
W - Josh Lennon 4 run (Stanley kick).
W - Nur Abdullah 43 int. return (Stanley kick).