By Bob Sutton
Special to The Alamance News
With so much attention focused on Friday night’s game, the Williams football team picked an ideal time to put on a show.
The Bulldogs carved through rival Western Alamance in what ended up a 49-21 victory to hold sole possession of first place in the Central 3-A Conference.
“We realized who we were playing and how much it means,” Williams quarterback Dan Mahn said. “Especially this year with the conference implications, it means a little bit more.”
Mahan threw for four touchdowns – all in the first half – and ran for another in front of a huge homecoming crowd at Burlington Memorial Stadium. Andrews Cruz and William Overby both had two TD catches.
The Bulldogs (7-1 overall, 4-0 Central 3-A Conference) have won seven games in a row. This might have been their most impressive of the bunch.
“Things were going our way and Dan was having a pretty good night,” Williams coach Patrick Stokes said.
Consider that the Bulldogs scored touchdowns on five consecutive possessions, the big blows were applied.
“We just played to our potential,” Overby said. “Let’s keep the foot on the gas pedal. That’s our mentality.”
The Bulldogs eventually led by 42 points.
“It’s Western week, it’s different,” Mahan said. “(Thursday), all practice, we were just blasting the warchant (played by Western’s band) over the speakers. It gets annoying. When we hear it in the game, it gives a little extra motivation, a little more push.”
Mahan, a Duke recruit who threw for 178 yards and ran for 149, praised every segment of the offense for working in sync.
“A lot of moving parts, and tonight they were all moving at the same time,” he said.
James Newton scored on second-half runs of 10 and 6 yards and Collin Moylan had a 15-yard scoring run for the Warriors (5-2, 2-1), who had a five-game winning streak snapped. Newton had 76 rushing yards and 39 receiving yards.
Western coach Jeff Snuffer took the blame after what he thought was a good week of practice.
“I did not have these guys ready,” he said. “Execution always comes down to the head coach.”
The Warriors responded to outscore Williams in the second half, something that Snuffer challenged them to do at halftime.
By then, the Bulldogs had done pretty much what they wanted to aside from punting to conclude the game’s first possession. Mahan had the Warriors off balance.
“He extends plays,” Snuffer said. “He did it with his feet and his arm. His receivers made plays.”
Mahan connected with Cruz for an 8-yard touchdown pass to begin the scoring. Another connection between those two resulted in a 17-yard touchdown play less than a minute into the second quarter.
Overby ran free for a 47-yard touchdown reception on Williams’ next possession. Then came a Western fumble, which was recovered by Cooper Rice. Fourteen plays later, Mahan delivered a 3-yard touchdown pass to Overby with 1:29 left in the half.
On the next snap, Leontae Turner picked off Western quarterback Ethan Oakley and returned the ball to the Warriors’ 7. Amarion Richmond ran in from 7 yards out, creating a 35-0 halftime lead.
Mahan’s 10-yard run in the third quarter and Kris Rogers’ 18-yard run in the fourth completed Williams’ touchdown tally. The latter came with 6:19 remaining, so with the Bulldogs up 49-7, by rule, a running clock was used for the rest of the game.
Williams has won six straight meetings in the series after the Warriors had nearly two decades of superiority.
“We worked really hard to put together a plan,” Stokes said. “It’s up to the players to take that plan and be willing to prepare.”
Eastern Alamance 69, Cedar Ridge 0: At Hillsborough, Tyrek Samuel and Jayden Russo ran for three touchdowns apiece and the Eagles won for the first time under first-year coach Mitch Mitchener with a Central 3-A Conference road victory.
Jarrett Newell and Daylin Ford returned interceptions for touchdowns, and teammate Coty Chambliss had two pick-offs.
Braxton Ballard threw to Taraji Rogers for a touchdown, and Zack Merchel scored on a quarterback keeper for the Eagles (1-6, 1-2).
Samuel checked in with 134 rushing yards on nine carries, and Russo picked up 117 yards on four attempts.
Cedar Ridge is 0-8, 0-4.
Southeast Alamance 54, Bartlett Yancey 0: At Haw River, Landon Dodson threw for four touchdowns as the unbeaten Stallions rolled at home, with all the scoring coming in the first half.
Dodson was 7-for-7 for 152 yards, with scoring passes going to Bubba Sims, Drew Easter, Cardell West, and Josh Gant. Sims also scored on a punt return.
Daniel Bunker rushed for two touchdowns and D.J. Callis had a touchdown run.
Southeast (7-0, 5-0) recorded their third shutout in their last five games.
Bartlett Yancey is 2-6, 2-4.
Cummings 56, Chatham Central 0: At Bear Creek, Devin Witherspoon ran for touchdowns on each of his three carries as the visiting Cavaliers kept rolling in the Mid-Carolina Conference.
Jaidyn Briskey ran for two touchdowns and Ja’Kori McNair threw for a touchdown to Ja’Kway Robertson and ran for a TD. Dakori Toliver returned an interception for a score.
Witherspoon’s runs covered a total of 102 yards. Robertson racked up 125 receiving yards.
The Cavaliers (6-1, 5-0), who’ve won five games in a row, held a 49-0 halftime lead. The Bears fell to 1-7, 0-6.
Northwood 69, Graham 2: At Pittsboro, the visiting Red Devils (1-6, 1-4) trailed 56-0 at halftime in the Mid-Carolina Conference game. Northwood improved to 5-3, 5-1.
