Courtesy of Wesley Athletics
Dover, Del. - The 3rd ranked Wesley Wolverines scored 35 points in the first quarter, then rolled to a 64-7 win over the visiting Builders of the Apprentice School. Brandon Wright (Clayton, N.J./ Clayton) finished with two scores on four first half carries.
Wesley went right to work on their first drive of the day as quarterback Justin Sottilare (Columbia, Md./ Oakland Mills) hit favorite wide out Ellis Krout (Dallas, Tx./ Roosevelt) for a 54-yard gain on the first play from line of scrimmage taking the Wolverines down to the Builders' 2-yard line. On the very next play, Wright scampered in for his first of two scores.
Wesley's tough defense forced a three and out situation for the Builders on their ensuing drive. Nick Foor's punt was blocked by Wesley's Keith Ford (Reistertown, Md./ Franklin) and then recovered by Aaron Benson (Swarthmore, Pa./Strath Haven) on the seven who then stumbled down to the Builder's 1-yard line. One play later, Sean Scanlon (Cherry Hill, N.J./ Camden Catholic) crossed the goal line for Wesley's second score in the first two minutes of the game.
Things went from bad to worse for the Builders who would fumble the ensuing kickoff allowing the next Wesley possession to start at the Apprentices' 31-yard line. Three consecutive runs by Wright ended with a 9-yard score for the sophomore running back. With 12:18 left on the first quarter clock, Wesley led 21-0.
Wesley's kicker, Dan Tryon (Wilmington, Del./Salesianum), who was coming off a record breaking 13-point game against Huntingdon, was perfect again against the Builders. Tryon added to his record with a 14 point tally which included 8 extra points (8 for 8) and 2 field goals on the day.
On their next drive, Apprentice found their first opportunity for momentum after they gained possession of a Wesley muffed punt return by Sean Hopkins (Georgetown, Del./Sussex Central) recovering deep in Wolverine territory at the 26. But the Wesley defense rose to the challenge turning away the Builders in three plays and then blocked a 43-yard field goal attempt recovering it on their own 21.
It wasn't until later in the first quarter that Wesley found the end zone again, this time from the defensive side of the ball. A big hit by Wesley linebacker, Jeff Morgan (Vineland, N.J./Vineland) on the Builder's quarterback, Trey Tillman, jarred the ball loose, allowing Chris Mayes (Waldorf, Md./Westlake) to scoop it up and run it in from the Apprentice 23-yard line.
Wesley's defense would strike again later, this time Marcus Wilson (Pennsauken, N.J./ Camden Catholic) picked off Tillman and zig zagged his way to the endzone for a 36-yard score. When the gun sounded for the end of the first quarter, Wesley held a commanding 35-0 lead.
Wesley's defense held on the first Builder possession of the second quarter, but an excellent Apprentice punt pinned the Wolverines deep at their own 6-yard line. Wesley would need 6 plays to span the 94 yards to the end zone. The drive was highlighted by three Sottilare completions, the final one a 66-yard scoring strike to DeAndre Fowlkes (Paulsboro, N.J./Paulsboro). Wesley now led 42-0 with 8:16 left in the first half and Coach Drass began to substitute for starters.
Still, the Wolverines would score two more times before half. The first score coming on a 10-yard fade from back up quarterback Chris Cummings (Newark, Del./Newark) to Leonard Stevenson (Nanjemoy, Md./Lackey). Later, Tryon would hit his first of two field goals on the day, this one good from 37 yards to bring the halftime score to 52-0.
On the first possession of the second half, Wesley's defense forced another turnover allowing the Wolverine offense to take over at the Builder's 15-yard line. Reserve running back Garrett Burgess (Barnegat, N.J./Southern) handled the backfield duties diving in from 1-yard out for the score.
Two drives later, Tryon hit his second field goal, this one from 45 yards out. Wesley would score one more time late in the second half after a bad snap on a Builder's punt allowed Kieth Ford another special teams highlight when he tackled the punter in the end zone for the 2-point safety making the score 64-0.
With Wolverine substitutions running in and out, a bad exchange on a late Wesley possession allowed the Builder's their only true scoring opportunity. Apprentice was able to avoid the goose egg when reserve quarterback, Bryan Shahlamian, found Al Little in the end zone for a 5-yard score. The extra point was good, but Wesley enjoyed a 64-7 victory as time ran out.
Next week, Wesley defends home turf for the second week in a row against visiting Southern Virginia, 1:00 p.m kickoff.