Woodruff
routed previously unbeaten No. 5 Mid-Carolina 42-7 to clinch its third
straight region crown at W.L. Varner Stadium. The Wolverines have won
four of the past five region titles.
“We
are just blessed to come out with a win tonight,” Woodruff coach Brian
Lane said. “This is great for the Woodruff community. I'm in a situation
where people expect to win, and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else.”
Ryan
Perkins connected with B.J. Johnson for a 48-yard score on Woodruff's
first possession. The Wolverines (6-3, 4-0) scored touchdowns on three
of their four first-half possessions.
Shun
Tribble had a 30-yard touchdown run, and then Hermundre Rutledge had a
41-yard TD scamper to round out the scoring in the first half for the
Wolverines.
“This is the
icing on the cake,” said Perkins, who celebrated his 17th birthday on
Friday. “Nobody believed in us (at the beginning of the year), so this
is great. We knew we needed to come out here and jump on them early.”
Perkins
hooked up with Johnson again on the first play of the second half for
an 80-yard score. Johnson added a 38-yard touchdown pass from Perkins
with 28 seconds left in the third quarter.
“Our
offensive line just did a heck of a job tonight,” Lane said. “We knew
playing a team like Mid-Carolina we needed to put as many points on the
board as we could, because they are explosive.”
Perkins, a junior, was 15-of-20 for 294 yards and three touchdowns. Johnson had 12 catches for 270 yards and three scores.
“We knew if we came out here and executed tonight, we couldn't be stopped,” said Johnson, a senior. “And we knew we had to come out swinging in the second half. It feels real good to win this my last year.”
Rutledge got his second touchdown on the night on a 44-yard run in the third quarter. Rutledge had four rushes for 119 yards.
“It felt good to be able to do my part, but this was a team effort,” said Rutledge, a sophomore. “We were ready tonight from the beginning.”
Nick Sims-Metts scored on a 1-yard run in the third quarter for Mid-Carolina (8-1, 3-1).