Hermundre Rutledge didn’t find the end zone Friday night for Woodruff on the road at Chapman, but he got his share of the offensive statistics. The junior was the favorite target for Wolverine quarterback Ryan Perkins.

Rutledge racked up 109 yards through the air on just six catches and had three carries for 62 yards to lead Woodruff to a 56-20 victory against Chapman.

“He’s a ballplayer,” Woodruff head coach Brian Lane said. “He’s one of the best players on our team. He ignites our offense.”

While Rutledge didn’t find the end zone, it seemed that Shun Tribble was only in the end zone. The senior tailback ran for 102 yards and scored four different times. Tribble also had one called back for a block in the back.

And even with his team putting 56 points on the board, Lane felt the Wolverines could have played better.

“We had six turnovers,” he said. “We have to do a better job of having ball security. Our offense was clicking on some things and we stalled on other things.”

On the defensive side of the ball, Lane couldn’t have been happier. The Wolverines held Panther quarterback Josh Henderson to 125 passing yards.

At the end of the first quarter, the Panthers and Wolverines were tied at 7, but Woodruff opened things up in the second quarter. Tribble scored three of his touchdowns in the first half and two came in the second quarter.
The biggest play for the Wolverines, however, came with 2:49 left in the second quarter. The Panthers were hanging tough, led by their defense.

On a third-and-7, Perkins dropped back and found a wide open Blake Bone in the middle of the field. Bone took it 38 yards for a touchdown and sent Woodruff into the half with a 28-7 lead.

The Panthers also took another hit when senior leader Preston Durham was carted off the field with an apparent leg injury. Chapman head coach Kevin Farmer had no update after the game.

The Panthers came out in a no-huddle offense in the second half, trying to get the Wolverine defense off-balance.
“We felt that was our only opportunity to get back in the game,” Farmer said.

The Panthers finally found the end zone again when Henderson ran in a touchdown from 6 yards out. He added another touchdown through the air to Malik Gray on the next Panthers drive. That was his second passing touchdown after tossing one to Josh Roberson in the first quarter.

“I thought our kids played the entire game and fought hard,” Farmer said. “We had some chances, but didn’t take advantage of them.”

Chapman will be on the road next week at Chesnee, while Woodruff will host Union County.