It has not happened often, but for the second straight week to open the season the Waurika Eagles’ flexed their defensive muscle in shutting out their opponent.
The Eagles rolled to a 52-0 victory over Grandfield last Friday night at Cy Sloan Stadium.
Waurika has opened the season by shutting out the two opponents and that has not happened since the 1975 season and it has only happened eight other times since Waurika began playing football in 1919.
The defense will likely get a much tougher test Friday night when the Eagles travel to Carnegie to battle the Wildcats.
Carnegie did not play last week and comes into the contest with a 1-1 mark with a loss to Seiling and win over Mountain View-Gotebo.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
In last Friday’s contest, the Eagles got off to a slow start with only a single score in the first quarter.
Kevin Garcia busted loose for a 30-yard scoring run and Waurika was up 6-0 with 4:03 to play and that is how the score stayed for the remainder of the first quarter.
The Eagles got things going, however, in the second quarter as they exploded for 46 points in route to ending the game at the half because of the 45-point mercy rule.
Turner Mora opened the scoring in the second quarter for the Eagles with a six-yard rushing touchdown. Mora added the two-point conversion giving Waurika a 14-0 advantage just 31 seconds into the second quarter.
Colton Bryant became the third Eagle to score as he scampered 20 yards for a score. The two-point conversion run failed leaving Waurika with a 20-0 advantage with 9:22 to play in the first half.
The Eagles took to the air for the next score with Hunter Wesberry catching a 28-yard touchdown pass from Mora. Bryant ran for the two points and Waurika had opened a 28-0 lead with 8:32 left before intermission.
Mora got his second rushing touchdown of the night for the next Waurika score. Mora covered 13 yards for the score and Wesberry converted the two-point conversion and Waurika was pulling away at 38-0 with 6:04 left in the half.
The next score came on the defensive side of the ball as Bryant picked off the Grandfield quarterback on the ensuing drive after the Eagle score and raced 30 yards for the touchdown. Bryant ran for the two points to put Waurika on top, 44-0.
The final score came just 29 seconds before the half as Bryant galloped 78 yards for the touchdown. Matt Arriola ran for the two points to fashion the final margin.
Thanks to that big run, Bryant ended the night with 102 yards rushing on only four carries.
Mora was effective in the passing game with five completions in six attempts and 143 yards. Garcia caught two passes for 85 yards and Bryant added two catches for 30 yards. Wesberry had the other catch for a touchdown.
The Waurika defense held Grandfield to only 88 total yards on the night.
EAGLE FLIGHTS: This was the 40th meeting between the two schools with the first meeting coming in 1922…Waurika’s win over Grandfield narrowed the series margin to 18-19-3…The 52 points scored by the Eagles equals last year’s total in a 52-6 victory over the Bearcats….The 52 points is the most ever scored in a game against Grandfield….The 52-point margin of victory for Waurika is the largest ever against the Bearcats and is also the largest margin of victory by either team in the 40 meetings between the two schools…The previous largest margin of victory against Grandfield was 47 points in a 47-0 victory in 1939…Waurika is 2-0 for only the third time since beginning eight-man play in 2012….The back-to-back wins over Grandfield had not been accomplished by Waurika since the 1968 and 1969 seasons…The Eagles and Grandfield have only played each other five times since the 60’s….The back-to-back shutouts posted by Waurika is not a frequent thing – it has only happened twice since Waurika began eight-man football in 2012…Back-to-back shutouts at any point during the season has only happened 27 other times in school history….The most consecutive shutouts in a single season by Waurika came in 1933 when the Eagles recorded eight straight shutouts on the way to an 8-0-2 record.
Game in Figures
GHS WHS
First Downs 6 7
Yards Rushing 25-31 16-195
Yards Passing 57 143
Passes 3-9 5-6
Passes Int. By 0 1
Fumbles Lost 0 1
Punts N/A 1-36
Penalties 5-25 7-47
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Grandfield 0 0 x x–0
Waurika 6 46 x x–52
WAURIKA – Kevin Garcia 30 run (run failed)
WAURIKA – Turner Mora 6 run (Mora run)
WAURIKA – Colton Bryant 20 run (run failed)
WAURIKA – Hunter Wesberry 27 pass from Mora (Bryant run)
WAURIKA – Mora 13 run (Wesberry run)
WAURIKA – Bryant 30 interception return (Bryant run)
WAURIKA – Bryant 78 run (Matt Arriola run)
