Westside’s early lead evaporates in 35-32 Homecoming loss to No. 2 Morgan County

Spoon Risper wasn’t buying it. He saw nothing through Westside-colored glasses.

His team had two more first downs than visiting GHSA Class 2A No. 2 Morgan County. Kadiphius Iverson went 80 yards on the first play from scrimmage, en route to a monster 313-yard rushing day.

The Seminoles ran 10 more plays and gained 113 more yards than the Bulldogs.

There were plenty of positives, but James Neville’s pass after a scramble whizzed through a pair of hands in the end zone on the game’s final play left Westside short of a major

upset, as the Seminoles fell 35-32 Saturday at the Ed DeFore Sports Complex.

Westside, 2-4, played a lot of good football, especially on offense. But the loss was what mattered to Risper.

“Not good enough to win,” Risper said. “Not good enough to win. It’s never a good day when we lose,” Risper said. “The standard here is win. We didn’t get it done.”

Even in a loss, the Seminoles went head to head with one of the top teams in the state. The Bulldogs went 10-2 last year, their third straight year of improvement under head coach Bill Jenkins.

After a long afternoon capping an equally long week — there were 116 plays and 957 yards, some unsportsmanlike conduct penalties and scores of conferences with officials — Jenkins was pooped.

“That was a heck of a trip down here, man,” the Morgan County coach said. “We knew they had … a good running back, a good quarterback, they were good up front, they move the ball on people. We knew they were really athletic and we knew we were in for a heck of a battle.”

And then some.

The Bulldogs (6-0) trailed 32-21 after Iverson’s 5-yard score with 9:55 left in the game, with the Seminoles (2-4) converting two third downs on the drive.

Morgan County quarterback Davis Strickland went back to work, completing the first three passes of the ensuing possession for 57 yards. He forced his way in from the 1 with 7:29 left to get within five. A Seminole defender got away with holding the intended receiver’s jersey, and the conversion pass failed.

A first-down hold put Westside behind the chains, and Morgan County took over on its 46 with 5:37 left.

Strickland, with protection, threw a strike to Jaylen Elder down the middle three plays later for a 50-yard touchdown, then connected with Drew Ainslie for the conversion and a five-point lead with 4:17 left.

Crunch time.

The Seminoles took over on their 34-yardline and went into their normal run-oriented offense with any number of players taking the snap: Iverson, Ki’moiray Holland, James Neville or Xavier Phillips.

Confident and in no hurry, the Seminoles huddled and moved. Iverson got 11 yards on third and 9, then Holland powering for 3 yards on third and 2.

Things started getting hectic, and Westside called a timeout with 46 seconds, facing second and 6 at Morgan County’s 27. At one point, the Seminoles were shuffling players in and out and had about 20 on the field during one transition.

It came down to third and 10 from the 19-yardline with three seconds left. Neville took the shotgun snap, faded to his left and ran away from defenders back to the middle. The quarterback eventually threw on the run to the end zone, but the pass fell through a receiver’s outstretched arms.

“We ran out of timeouts,” Risper said. “We missed a wide open throw to win the game. Can’t miss wide open throws, guy in the end zone by himself.”

Jenkins wondered if the play would ever end.

“It seemed like about a minute and half,” he said. 

In reality, the play that felt like forever lasted only 12 seconds from snap to incompletion. But the Bulldogs survived, and celebrated as such.

“They came out with a power look,” Jenkins said. “They hadn’t shown that look, so that was new to us. It took us the two (plays) that popped (and) we had to kind of adjust and wake up.”

Ahead early, but faltering late

Iverson went off the left side all but untouched for an 80-yard run on the game’s first play from scrimmage.

Both teams failed on fourth downs on three straight possessions. Iverson prevented a fourth-straight failure for Westside, powering through weak tackles and out-of-position defenders for a 68-yard touchdown run seven seconds into the second quarter.

Strickland drove the Bulldogs to a score on their next trip, only for Westside to answer with an 80-yard drive, Iverson getting the final 5 yards after breaking off a big run that lost some oomph with a penalty.

Four plays later, Strickland’s strike to an open Ty Tillery for a 34-yard score made it 18-14 at the 2:49 mark of the half.

Morgan County took its first lead three plays into the third quarter on another Strickland-Tillery connection, from 12 yards out.

Again, Westside answered, sparked by a 42-yard pass from Neville, who heaved it downfield while scrambling only for Jayden Williams to outbattle a defender along the sideline for 42 yards on third and 28.

Phillips went 22 yards before Holland got the final yard for a 25-21 lead with 6:55 left in the third. 

Williams then picked off Strickland in the end zone and returned it to the 13. Westside went the distance thanks to 38 yards from Iverson on third and 5 to go up 32-21 with 9:55 left on Iverson’s 5-yard run.

But the Bulldogs and Strickland had the answers.

Strickland was 18 of 27 for 278 yards and three touchdowns, to six different receivers and completing six straight at one point.

“They got guys that can throw it, pitch and catch,” Risper said. “We didn’t put any pressure on him and gave up splash plays. Simple as that. Can’t give up splash plays against guys that can pitch and catch.”

Despite an effort marred only by the final score, Risper wasn’t buying into any positives or a marketable loss or sign of progress.

“Football is football,” Risper said. “Blocking, tackling, and discipline, and stopping people. We didn’t get stops. Whenever we lose, I don’t like (anything).”