ASHLAND — The Ashland Tomcats figured they would need to match the Wheelersburg Pirates punch-for-punch to have a chance.
But as it would turn out, the Pirates unleashed a flurry of punches and knocked out the Tomcats 49-7 on Friday night at Putnam Stadium.
The game would start off with a bang as Ashland quarterback LaBryant Strader would hit wide receiver Asher Adams on a 66-yard touchdown pass on the very first offensive play of the game.
Jake Sexton would come on the covert the point after try and Tomcats lead 7-0.
On the ensuing kickoff, Wheelersburg would deliver a big counterpunch as junior Creed Warren would field the kick and cut his way through the Tomcat players and race 90-yards into the endzone.
Connor Estep kicked the extra point and the score was tied at 7-7 with 11:24 in the opening period.
The Tomcats would threaten to score again on their second possession as they drove to the Wheelersburg 5-yard line.
The Pirate defense would stand tall and force a turnover on downs after a Strader pass would fall out of bounds in the back corner of the endzone.
After a Wheelersburg punt, the Tomcats would again drive deep into Pirate territory again on the efforts of Strader who would use his legs to rush for 9-yards to covert a third and eight play.
Strader would then complete a 22-yard pass to Austin Nichols to put the Tomcats deep in Pirate territory.
Ashland's drive would come to an abrupt halt on a second-and-goal from the 8, when bad snap from under center would be recovered by the Pirates.
The Pirates would get the ball back and go on a 14-play drive that covered 92-yards and resulted in an 11-yard touchdown scamper by Ethan Glover on a fourth down-and-three play.
Estep would boot the point after try and the Pirates would go up 14-7 with 1:50 left in the first half.
The drive was highlighted by a rare pass by Pirate quarterback Eli Jones as he hit Eric Lattimore for 42-yards on a third down-and-6 play to put Wheelersburg deep into Ashland territory.
From that point on, the Pirates would take total control of the ballgame.
Ashland had one final chance to muster up some points in the half with the ball at their own 40-yard line and 1:50 left on the clock.
But those hopes were dashed as the Pirate defense forced a three-and-out to finish the half.
The Pirate offense would pick up where they left off to begin the third period as they would extend their lead on a 4-yard touchdown run by senior running back Derrick Lattimore to extend the Pirate lead to 21-7 with 8:36 in the quarter.
Eric Lattimore, would get into the act on the next drive, as he would take a jet sweep handoff and slash his way past the Tomcat defense for a 65-yard touchdown score of his own to further extend the Wheelersburg lead to 28-7 with 5:15 left in the third quarter.
Derrick Lattimore would add his second score of the evening as he plowed in from 1 yard out to give the Pirates a 35-7 lead with :25 in the third frame.
On Ashland's next offensive series, Creed Warren would effectively deliver the knockout blow by recording his second score of the night, as he would intercept a Strader pass and return it 52-yards into the endzone as the clock would expire to end the third quarter.
Along with his kickoff and interception returns, Warren would finish the night with 5 carries for 74 yards on offense, which lead all Wheelersburg rushers.
Connor Estep added the point after try and the score was 42-7 heading into the final quarter.
The Pirate defense would hold Ashland (1-3) to just 90 totals yards of offense in the second half.
The final score of the night would come from freshman running back Elijah Brown as he knifed his way into the endzone from 10-yards out to start the running clock and finalize the score at 49-7 in favor of the Pirates.
Wheelersburg (3-1) hosts the Jackson Ironmen next Friday night.
WHEELERSBURG 7 7 28 7 = 49
ASHLAND 7 0 0 0 = 7
FIRST QUARTER
A- Asher Adams 66 pass from LaBryant Strader (Jake Sexton kick), 11:40
W- Creed Warren 90 kick off return (Connor Estep kick), 11:24
SECOND QUARTER
W- Ethan Glover 11 run (Connor Estep kick), 1:50
THIRD QUARTER
W- Derrick Lattimore 4 run (Connor Estep kick), 8:36
W- Eric Lattimore 65 run (Connor Estep kick), 5:15
W- Derrick Lattimore 1 run (Connor Estep kick), :25
W- Creed Warren 52 interception return (Connor Estep kick), :00
FOURTH QUARTER
W- Elijah Brown 10 run (Connor Estep kick), 4:45
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Wheelersburg Ashland
First Downs 14 13
Rushes-Yards 33-325 31-136
Passing Yards 63 157
Total Yards 388 293
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 1-1
Penalties-Yards 3-25 4-26
Punts-Avg. 1-42.0 2-39.0
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Individual Leaders
RUSHING - Wheelersburg: Ethan Glover 6-40 TD, Eli Jones 6-48, Jake Darling 1-(minus 1), Derrick Lattimore 10-55 2 TD, Creed Warren 5-74, Eric Lattimore 2-59 TD, Ison Emnett 1-1, Kenyon Evans 1-6, Elijah Brown 1-10; Ashland : Braxton Jennings 14-38, LaBryant Strader 7-27, Atayveon Thomas 6-55, Asher Adkins 1-1, Keshawn Newman 1-6, Tyree Clutters 2-9.
PASSING - Wheelersburg: Eli Jones 2-4-63-0; Ashland: LaBryant Strader 8-19-157-0 TD.
RECEIVING - Wheelersburg: Eric Lattimore 2-42, Ethan Glover 1-21; Ashland: Asher Adkins 3-83, Terrell Jordan 2-7, Brandon Houston 1-40, Jared Brown 1-14, Austin Nichols 1-13.
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