Reapers' defense gives up too many big plays

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WILMINGTON - It didn't pay to blink.

It only took an instant and they were gone, or so it seemed Friday night at Becker Field as Wilmington took advantage of big play after big play to blow out Plano 42-13.

The decision wrapped up the Interstate Eight Conference Small Division title for the Wildcats, who are 8-0 overall and 5-0 in the league with a crossover game against Herscher remaining.

The teams played to a 7-7 first-quarter tie with Plano winning the field position battle. Football wars, though, are won with touchdowns and the Wildcats hung three of them on the Reapers in the second quarter to take a 28-7 lead at the break and put the decision to rest.

"We didn't take advantage early in the game," said Plano coach Jim Green, whose team fell to 5-3 and 4-1. "You get those opportunities against a good football team and you've got to take advantage of them."

The Reapers did score on a 40-yard pass from Johnny Mendez to a wide open Adam Iverson to knot it with 5:52 left in the first quarter, but they turned the ball over on downs their next two possessions at the Wilmington 31- and 32-yard lines.

A lost fumble on a bad handoff exchange on the first possession of the game gave Wilmington the ball at the Plano 19. The Wildcats opened the scoring with a 5-yard pass from quarterback Colin Webb to Coyt Scheel to cap the short drive.

In the second quarter, running back John VanDuyne went left and broke free for a 64-yard scoring run the second time he touched the ball. Just two minutes and 28 seconds later, Jeremy Bailey went right and scooted 66 yards for another score.

Bailey then capped a methodical 64-yard drive with a 3-yard run for his second score.

"They put some quick ones on us," said Green. "We talked all week about not giving up big plays but they got big plays on us and we've really got to improve on that.

"That was not good tackling and this group has practiced more tackling than any of our groups the last five years. Boy, it didn't show tonight."

Bailey would finish with a game-high 109 yards rushing. Scheel, who had a 45-yard scoring run in the second half, added 118 and Van Duyne had 72 as Wilmington piled up 335 of their 364 total yards on the ground.

"Give them credit, they run hard and they've got three backs who can take it to the house on any play and they showed it tonight," said Green.

Wilmington's defense has been allowing an average of just 123 total yards. The Reapers finished with 191 on 140 rushing and 51 passing but only a 64-yard scamper by Mendez late in the game pushed them over the average.

Plano got its fifth first down in the final two minutes of the opening quarter but then went nearly 27 minutes before recording another, on a 16-yard run by Adam Iverson with 9:37 left in the fourth period.

"They had assignment football and they're good at it," said Green. "We caught 'em on that first touchdown and thought we had some other things but they're just fast to the ball."

Justin O'Hara led the Reapers with 49 yards rushing on nine carries but Jeremy Cannon struggled to just five yards on eight carries.

"He missed two-and-a-half games with an (ankle) injury and you can tell he's still not 100 percent because he doesn't have that breakaway speed and they were keying on him," said Green.

"They outplayed us tonight and deserved it."