Westside holds off Rutland comeback in 16-14 region win

On about one 20-yard line, Spoon Risper stood among about a dozen former players, smiling and joking and taking pictures.

Around the opposite 20-yard line sat a Rutland player, by himself with the bright lights of the scoreboard bearing down on him.

About 60 yards separated completely different worlds.

Rutland appeared ready to win its first game of the season and cap off a comeback from a 16-0 deficit, but Westside knocked the ball loose late to preserve a 16-14 win over the Hurricanes in a GHSA Region 2-2A game at Ed DeFore.

Risper was happy just to celebrate, and to do so with some familiar faces. The struggles weren’t quite so important just yet, until the video review.

“The six losses we had in a row?” he said. “All six were in the top 10. We’ve had one of the toughest schedules in the state of Georgia.”

The Seminoles stayed alive for a playoff spot, improving to 3-6 and 2-2. Rutland fell to 0-9 and 0-4 with its 20^th straight loss dating back to the end of the 2023 season.

Rutland head coach Anthony Williams was pained.

“You can’t come out and help people beat you,” he said. “We had four turnovers, and every last one of the turnovers were in the red zone. You can’t do that.”

It looked good early for Westside.

The Seminoles rode the legs of Jaiden Stephens (117 yards) and Kaleb Blount on a 7-play, 68-yard drive on their first possession, converting a second and 15 to set up Blount’s 1-yard run with 7:33 left in the first quarter.

Then it looked decent — but foreshadowing — for Rutland.

The Hurricanes moved from their 44 to a first and goal at the 3-yard line, had a touchdown nullified by an aiding-the-runner call, and then fumbled it away at the 12.

Westside gave it back after a 35-yard run from Stephens, and Rutland again moved the ball, albeit slowly.

The Hurricanes started on Westside’s 49 and ran 13 plays, converting a fourth-and-3 play along the way. A 3-yard loss on first and 10 at the 13 doomed the possession, with quarterback Zamarion Johnson getting 7 on fourth down when he needed 10.

After forcing a three and out, Rutland moved again but fumbled it away two plays after Johnson scrambled for 30 yards. This time, Westside made it hurt with its own long drive, eating up the final 3:44 and covering 74 yards. A reverse by Larry Wilder got 7 yards on fourth and 6, and Stephens went in from the 3-yard line on the final play of the half.

“The first half was not us,” Williams said. “We were kind of walking. I think we were just anxious.”

So much for getting the ball first in the second half. A meeting on the kickoff return led to a Hurricane falling down on the 6. Two plays later, Johnson got surrounded in the end zone for a safety and a 16-0 deficit 59 seconds into the third quarter.

Westside may have gotten away with one when a Seminole appeared to signal a fair catch on the free kick, took a few steps, and then took off. Nothing was called, until Williams drew a flag for unsportsmanlike conduct.

That put the ball on the 8, but Rutland’s defense stood up and forced a field goal, which the Seminoles missed.

Cam Roosevelt — who finished with 101 yards — ripped off a 58-yarder down the left side. This time Rutland finally converted, with Johnson hitting a wide open Jordan Orange down the middle for a 22-yard score. Johnson ran in the conversion to cut the margin in half four minutes into the third.

Westside seemed primed for a knockout punch when it went from its 37 to Rutland’s 15, but an unsportsmanlike flag and an offensive pass interference put the Seminoles in a third-and-36 situation before turning it over on downs at Rutland’s 24.

Isaiah Wheeler’s 53-yard burst through defenders — it was not a good tackling night for either team — set up a 7-yard score from Johnson. The conversion failed, but the Hurricanes were within two with 8:58 left in the game.

“Our second half was what we want and what we expected,” Williams said. “The guys came out and they took the coaching.”

They stuffed the Seminoles for a 5-yard loss on fourth and 3, and took over on their 32 with 4:31 left and proceeded to embark on one of their better possessions of the season, aided by a late hit.

Milking the clock almost perfectly as the teams traded timeouts, Rutland had fourth and 1 at the 18.

Sampson found room and headed to the secondary only for Tylen Bobbitt to hit him from behind and knock the ball out, the Seminoles recovering on the 8 with 29 seconds left.

“You’ve got to have both hands on the ball,” Williams said. “You’re running in traffic, you’ve got to have both hands on the ball. He thought he was in the clear.”

It sent Hurricanes to their knees.

“I knew it was going to be a dogfight the whole game,” said Risper, who has one more home game before his retirement at Westside takes effect at the end of the season. “Coach Williams is a very good coach, and they just need to keep believing in him. If those kids play every game like they played us tonight, they’re going to be fine.

“We played hard. That’s the number one thing here at Westside. I didn’t like our tackling, we didn’t tackle well at all. Too many minor mistakes. But our kids played hard.”