Leesville Road quarterback Jake Groeschen drops back to pass against Wakefield. (October 10, 2008)
Oct 11, 2008
RALEIGH — The rain subsided a while before the kickoff of the Cap 7 match-up between Leesville Road and Wakefield, but it still left the Wolverines all wet, as they piled up four turnovers in a 24-6 loss at Leesville’s Hamilton Field.
The first play from scrimmage for the Pride was a good omen of how the night would go. Quarterback Jake Groeschen’s option pitch to running back Zach Greene went for 41 yards. But the drive stall at the Wakefield 20 when the turnover bug bit the Pride - Wakefield’s Trevor Schock intercepted a Groeschen pass.
Wakefield’s drive was short-lived. Wolverine running back Moyo Olusesi took the hand-off up the middle and the ball popped loose and into the awaiting arms of Leesville’s Zach Gentry at the Wakefield 9-yard line. That was the beginning of Gentry’s standout performance, as he finished with two interceptions, one fumble recovery, five tackles, and 103 yards rushing on 17 carries.
Gentry, this time as a running back, got the ball on the next play and took it down to the 1 yard line. Teammate Ryan Mangum, who stole the show for much of the night, pushed it through on the ensuing play for 7-0 lead.
Despite the early interception, the start was exactly what Pride coach David Green wanted for his team after last week’s tough loss at Broughton.
“We just said we’re going to come out this week and eliminate the turnovers, play good defense, play Leesville football and that’s what they did,” said Green. “It was good. It’s nice to get back on track.”
Leesville Road had a leg up in the field position battle all game long, starting most of its drives around midfield or on Wakefield’s side of the 50. Two interceptions and a fumble inside their own 30-yard line led directly to 17 Leesville Road points, and ultimately the undoing of the Wolverines, who never really looked in sync.
Coming off an emotional win over Millbrook the previous week, Wakefield head coach J.D. Dinwiddie was hoping there would be no letdown against the Pride.
“I was worried a little bit about it this week, we didn’t address it a lot,” Dinwiddie said. “I don’t know if it was so much that, we just didn’t execute very well on the offensive side of the ball. Defensively we played a great game.”
Near the end of the first quarter, after forcing Wakefield to punt from their own 2-yard line, Leesville started to move again from the Wolverine’s 35. The Pride mounted a seven-play drive that saw Groeschen throw and run twice, and then hand off to Mangum once again for a two-yard plunge for the 14-0 lead.
All along the way, the senior quarterback Groeschen was poised and focused like a veteran, determined to get the victory.
“Going into this game we were like we’re on the rebound, we’re on a roll from here on out. We just got to keep rolling on offense and if our defense keeps it up we should be pretty good,” he said.
The Pride defense did hold up quite nicely, allowing just 71 rushing yards and 72 passing yards. They also kept the ball out of the hands of electrifying wide receivers Kevin Rojas and Nigel King, who are use to getting more than 100 yards a piece through the air.
Wakefield quarterback Drew Wilkinson, who is also used to putting up gaudy numbers, led his team in rushing with 53 yards on the ground.
Just three plays into the Wolverines’ opening drive of the second half, Gentry snagged another one of Wilkinson’s passes. This time the Pride got to work at their opponent’s 30-yard line, and six rushes later, junior running back Dylan Edwards scored his team’s final touchdown.
Wakefield finally got on the board after an 11-play, turnover-free, fourth quarter drive that ended in a one-yard plunge by Rojas to get the visitors on the board.
Next week looms large for both teams, with Wakefield looking to bounce back at home against Wake Forest-Rolesville, and Leesville looking to sustain their momentum against a banged-up Sanderson squad.
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