'We want to reclaim this league': Whiteville football pummels Trask in Waccamaw opener

It might have been a short week for the Whiteville football team as it opened up Waccamaw Conference play against Trask on Thursday, but the Wolfpack were more than ready.

Pummeling their conference foes in a game that was moved up one day to avoid the possible side effects of Hurricane Helene, Whiteville left no doubts about their desire for the 2024 Waccmaw Conference title as they outpaced Trask 54-0 in Rocky Point.

"We want to reclaim this league," Whiteville coach JP Price said after the win. "Our goal after today was to be 1-0 in conference play, and that's what we are."

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Trask entered the matchup a red-hot, 5-0 start for the first time in school history, averaging 48 points a game, but that didn't faze the Wolfpack. Setting the tone on the game's first drive, Whiteville's Caleb Johnson intercepted a Titans pass and returned it for a touchdown.

"We take every game with the same approach each week, and I thought the pick-six really set the tone for the rest of the game," Price said.

From there, the Wolfpack kept pounding the ball home, eventually forcing a running clock as running back Cameron McKvian scored three times on the night.

Whiteville's (4-1) first taste of Waccmaw Conference action has been long awaited. After winning the split 1/2A conference in 2021 and 2022, the team fell short of West Columbus last fall.

The loss is the first of the season for Trask (5-1), which offered glimmers of hope early on as Virginia Tech commit Sherrod Henderson dashed down the sideline for a 41-yard gain.

Finding a way past a steadfast Wolfpack defense, however, proved harder as the game progressed. On the Titan's final drive of the game, Mckvian picked up a fumble and ran it back for the team's second defensive touchdown of the night.

For Price, it's moments like those that show just how far his defense has come in the last few weeks.

"Earlier in the year, we got exposed a little bit (defensivley), and it made us change personnel," Price said of the unit. "We've gotten better and better every week on defense."

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: 'We want to reclaim this league': Whiteville football pummels Trask in Waccamaw opener