The Woodford County High School football team dominated Great Crossing from the opening kickoff until the final whistle in a 42-0 win over the Warhawks Sept. 4.
For Woodford, the win was about more than getting another victory. After two weeks in which the Yellow Jackets felt they had not played a complete football game, the trip to Great Crossing was an opportunity to put together four quarters of the football they expected from themselves.
The performance Friday night was a sign that Woodford can elevate their game and play with intensity.
Woodford’s defense set the tone on Great Crossing’s opening drive, holding the Warhawks and forcing a punt that backed the Jackets up to their own 8-yard line.
The long field did little to slow down the Woodford offense.
Ryan Brown got the Jackets moving with a 36-yard run up the middle to push Woodford near midfield. A first-down completion from Foxx Coons to Greyson Hodge kept the drive moving before a couple of big first-down runs from Aidyn Powell had Woodford inside the Great Crossing 10-yard line.
Brown polished off the drive with a 6-yard touchdown run, and Cash Wolfe’s extra-point gave Woodford a 7-0 lead.
The Jackets’ defense made sure the offense did not have to wait long for another opportunity.
JB Perkins highlighted another dominant defensive stand with a sack before the Warhawks were forced to punt. Woodford took over around midfield and quickly went back to work.
Coons connected with Kael Rihtar for a first down before Powell picked up another first down with a pair of strong runs. JT Jackson finished the drive with a touchdown run, and Woodford converted a two-point try to take a 15-0 lead.
Great Crossing continued to struggle to find room against the Woodford defense on its next possession.
Darrian Tomlin delivered one of the biggest hits of the night, knocking a Great Crossing ball carrier off his feet as the Jackets forced the Warhawks to punt once again.
Woodford carried that momentum into the second quarter and needed only 15 seconds to add to its lead.
Coons went to the air and connected with Rihtar for a 42-yard touchdown, pushing the Jackets’ advantage to 22-0.
Great Crossing tried to answer, but the Woodford defense came up with the first turnover of the night.
Wyatt Peters intercepted a Warhawks’ pass to end the possession. The interception was Peters’ third in as many games to begin the season.
Woodford immediately looked for a big play following the turnover. Coons connected with Hodge for a 33-yard completion to put the Jackets in position to add to their lead. The drive stalled from there, however, and Wolfe’s field goal attempt went wide left.
Woodford’s defense forced another Great Crossing punt before the Warhawks finally appeared to catch a break.
Great Crossing intercepted Coons to give the Warhawks a chance to cut into Woodford’s 22-point lead. Whatever momentum came from the turnover did not last long.
The Jackets stopped the Warhawks, who attempted to keep the possession alive with a fake punt. Woodford stopped the play and took over on downs.
Brown made Great Crossing pay for the failed attempt.
The Woodford running back rumbled 14 yards to the Warhawks’ 5-yard line before finishing the drive with a touchdown run up the middle. Wolfe’s extra-point extended the Woodford lead to 29-0.
The Warhawks were again unable to get anything going against the Woodford defense and were forced to give the football back to the Jackets.
Woodford took advantage of one final opportunity before halftime.
Tre Jarber ran up the middle for a 14-yard gain before Hodge hauled in another reception to move the chains. With the clock winding down, Coons connected with David Jones Jr. for a touchdown with 14 seconds remaining in the half.
The score gave Woodford a 36-0 lead and triggered a running clock for the remainder of the game.
With the clock continuously moving, possessions and opportunities were limited in the second half. Woodford still found the end zone once more when Jace Carroll connected with Makai Black for a touchdown to finish off the 42-0 victory.
The final score reflected a night when contributions came from throughout the Woodford roster.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Jackets pitched a shutout, forced Great Crossing to punt throughout the first half and came away with a turnover on Peters’ interception. The Warhawks had to wait until the second half to gain their first first down.
For Woodford Coach Dennis Johnson, the performance came after a week when the Jackets changed the intensity of their preparation.
“We had a good week, a very intense week,” Johnson said. “It was really player-led, so it was good. We said we just have to be consistent in what we do.”
The player-led approach came as Woodford looked for a response after the Jackets did not play the way they believed they were capable of during the opening two weeks.
Offensive lineman Maxx Escaloni said getting Woodford mentally prepared was a focus throughout the week.
“Coach Johnson was talking all week about how we got to get our own heads right. We gotta get our heads in the game, and we gotta play hard,” Escaloni said. “That was not Woodford County football. We weren’t playing hard until, like, the second half.”
For Escaloni, seeing Woodford come out that way made the night even more enjoyable.
“It was amazing. Everything was right. Everything looked amazing,” Escaloni said. “I just love this game.”
Tomlin said the fast start was particularly important after the Jackets had struggled to establish themselves early in their previous games.
“We came out sloppy last week. The week before that, we even came out sloppy,” Tomlin said. “So it was just pretty good to set the tone and come out here and dominate our opponent like we were supposed to do.”
The challenge for Woodford becomes maintaining the same approach as the season moves forward. Tomlin said that begins long before the Jackets take the field on Friday nights.
“We just got to keep our heads right,” Tomlin said. “We gotta keep having physical, hard, fast practices, and we just gotta be us. We gotta come out here and play our ball.”
Johnson said overlooking Great Crossing was not an issue for his team. The focus throughout the week was less about the opponent and more about Woodford playing to its own expectations.
Part of accomplishing that was putting more responsibility on the players themselves during the week.
For Tomlin, one of Woodford’s seniors, having the players take ownership is an important part of building the kind of team the Jackets want to become.
“I think that’s definitely a big thing,” Tomlin said. “I just think if you’re player-led, you’re bound to win games. You hear from a coach, but the coaches aren’t on the field playing with you. They trust that we are listening and soaking in all that they feed us. As a senior, I’ve got to make sure everyone is on the same page.”
After two weeks of searching for the complete performance the Jackets expected from themselves, Woodford left Great Crossing with a shutout and a performance much closer to what the Jackets believe Woodford County football is supposed to look like.
Woodford will travel to Memphis Friday night to play Munford High School in a rematch of last season’s most physical game of the year.