Story Date: 9/25/2004 1:47:22 AM Trumann blanks Westside By Jeremy Cox Special to The Sun Just seven days after last week’s 12-12 tie with Nettleton, the Westside Warriors once again produced the defensive pressure necessary to hold any team in check. But this time around, it was the Warriors’ offense that stumbled in Friday’s conference-opening loss to 3AAA rival Trumann, 8-0. “They saw what we did on the film against (Nettleton) and they had eight men in the box,” first-year Westside coach Bryan Harris said after the game. “We’ve tried to simplify things as much as we can and it worked against (Nettleton), but they knew what we were going to do.” Already in an 0-3 skid to open the season, the Wildcats ended their slump with a lone strike into the end zone, coming through the air with just 22 seconds left in a ground-dominated first half. Having already found receiver Joseph Timbs earlier in the game for receptions of 5 and 26 yards, THS quarterback Brent Maurizi lofted a perfectly arched pass to Timbs in the left corner of the end zone for the 6-0 edge. Wildcats halfback Darren Hellums then took the 2-point conversion carry off the right tackle, stretching and breaking the plane of the end zone for the 8-0 final. “Brent has played quarterback for me off and on for three years, he’s a pretty good hand and we called it exactly how he threw it,” Timbs said of the game-winning pass. “(Joseph’s) not very big, but they were playing him man and we felt like he was eventually going to get open.” Trumann’s rushing defense had been repeatedly abused until Friday night, allowing Paragould’s Seth Mitchell, Hoxie’s Brett Shrable and Nettleton’s Derek Lawson to individually average 159 yards per game. But the Wildcats swiftly turned the tables on the Warriors, allowing just 24 team rushing yards in the first half, and only 58 total ground yards from Westside’s entire rushing corps. “Well, a lot of (our defensive woes) have to do with who we’ve been playing, two Class AAAA schools, plus Hoxie isn’t bad,” Timbs grinned. “Plus, we’re playing a lot more young kids than what I’m used to, so it’s been a struggle and hopefully we’ll continue to improve.” Westside’s only effective drive of the game came immediately after the game’s opening kickoff, as quarterback Chris West and halfback Drew Davis drove the Warriors 50 yards to Trumann’s 16-yard-line, before Bryan Campbell was dropped for a 9-yard loss to push the home team out of field goal range. West bombed an incomplete pass to wideout Jacob Cook on fourth down, beginning a steady deflation of the Warriors’ offense. “We’ve just got to be able to run the ball better than we did tonight, that’s all there is to it,” Harris stressed. “Our defense played well again, but we turned the ball over late (Trumann’s Joseph Wheeler stripped the ball from West on a sack in the fourth quarter, recovered by Eric Mullins), and then we ran the trick play and all that happened,” he added, shaking his head. Harris’ understandable frustration stemmed from an officiating error to begin the fourth quarter, with the Warriors pinned on their own goal line and desperately seeking a score. The Warriors ran a trick play for Davis, which creates the illusion of a pileup at the line of scrimmage and leaves the halfback to run inconspicuously with the ball toward the outside. But Harris’ trickery fooled even the officiating crew, prompting an inadvertent whistle that blew the play dead, even as Davis dashed over 70 yards untouched down Trumann’s sideline. “We told the officials about the play before the ballgame, and they said they would be sure they saw the ball before blowing the whistle,” Harris said. “We ran the ball I don’t know how far, but they blew it dead without even seeing the ball. ... It was at a really bad time and it was a huge play.” Westside (1-2-1, 0-1 3AAA) was instead forced to punt from its own 30 with 3:06 remaining, allowing Trumann to chew a full 1:30 off the clock via bulldozing fullback Perry Heavener. Westside’s final chance at a tie then fell short, with Bryan Campbell’s under-pressure pitch to Hunter Rasdon unable to convert on fourth down. “We gave up one big play right before the half on a jump ball. Their guy jumped higher than ours and that’s all you can say,” Harris said in summation. “We’ve just got to regroup and come back stronger.” Trumann (1-3, 1-0 3AAA) was paced by Heavener on the ground (44 yards on 13 carries), followed by sophomore tailback Richard Nelson (33 yards on 13 totes). Maurizi finished 5-of-8 through the air for 63 yards and a touchdown, with Timbs listed as his favorite target with 4 catches for 45 yards. Westside was paced by Davis, who ran the ball 8 times for 56 yards. Matt McClendon followed with 28 yards on 10 carries, while West completed 4-of-6 passes for 28 yards. Cook again proved to be West’s most effective receiver, reeling in a pair of catches for 21 yards. The Wildcats will host Harrisburg this Friday, while Westside travels to Gosnell. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 2004, Jonesboro Sun  CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL RESPONSIBLE FOR HONORING OUR HOME TOWN!!!
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