KING—Coach Trent Lowman notched his first career win at West Stokes on opening night with a 49-0 shutout over rival South Stokes on Friday, Aug. 23. Running back Lindann Fleming debuted with the Wildcats by rushing 151-yards on nine carries with two touchdowns.
“It’s good to get the first one,” said Lowman. “I’m very proud of the intensity and passion our guys played with, and our coaches did a great job all week, and especially tonight. We have a lot to clean up and improve on, but all in all, I’ll take it. The fans, the band, cheerleaders, and dance teams, all of it. It was a great night in Wildcat Stadium!”
The Wildcats forced a fumble on the Sauras’ first possession near midfield. South Stokes’ Justin Joyce tackled Aydden Cherry for a loss on the first play, and then a penalty on the home team pushed them further back giving the Cats a second and 26. Fleming rushed for 16 yards on his first career carry, but yet another penalty forced a second and 20.
After an incomplete pass by quarterback Sam Reeves, West Stokes faced a third and long. Fleming rushed for 19 yards setting up a fourth and short. Nate Akers gained the first down, and then Derek Studer snagged his first career catch with a 33-yard reception sitting up a first and goal. Reeves went the distance giving The Wildcats a 6-0 lead. Kicker Myles Knox connected on his first of seven extra-point makes on the evening.
West Stokes ended the first quarter with Fleming scoring his first career touchdown with 1:04 left in the period. Knox’s kick made it 14-0.
The Wildcats added three more scores in the second quarter with the first coming from Studer’s 8-yard reception from Reeves. Less than three minutes later, Fleming added his second score from 34 yards out, and then Akers busted through from one-yard out with 1:18 left before the half. West Stokes led 35-0 at the break.
West Stokes opened up the second half with Reeves connecting with Aydden Cherry for a 35-yard touchdown reception. Fleming set up Cherry’s catch when he took the second half kickoff to the Sauras’ side of the field.
The Wildcats’ Landis Pritchard set up the team’s next score after his first career interception. Four plays later Mikah Webster caught a 15-yard pass from Reeves making it 49-0.
South Stokes’ coach Josh Mickey was also making his debut as the team’s head coach. Mickey played for the Wildcat and coached at the school for three years.
“Obviously, it was a disappointing week one,” noted Mickey. “I was extremely proud of our kids effort all night. It was a very odd feeling being on the visitors sideline in pre-game at Wildcat Stadium and walking in there as a visitor, but it went away quickly. My focus was on doing the best job for our kids and I didn’t do that last night. Give our guys credit, they fought hard until the very end, which is a great sign moving forward.”
West Stokes gained 192 yards rushing with Fleming leading the way. Reeves was 8-for-11 with 116 yards passing with Studer (54-yards) and Cherry (47-yards) recording three catches each.
Amari Conrad led the Sauras in rushing with 21-yards, and senior Parker Barron had four catches for 22-yards. Elijah Tyler was 8-for-18 in passing with 34 yards.
Kobe McMillan led the Wildcats with seven tackles, and Cherry and Akers recorded six each. Jonah McCoy recovered a fumble, and Webster and Pritchard had interceptions.
BJ Gray paced the Sauras’ defense with seven tackles, and Scott Sawyer and Barron registered six tackles each. Barron forced the only turnover on the night with an interception in the first half.
West Stokes (1-0) will travel to Randleman (1-0) on Friday, Aug. 30, and the South Stokes (0-1) will host North Surry (0-1).
Final Score
South Stokes
0 0 0 0 – 0
West Stokes
14 21 14 0 – 49
Scoring
First QuarterWS (7:18) — Sam Reeves 6-yard run, Myles Knox kick
WS (1:04) — Lindann Fleming 27-yard run, Knox kick
Second Quarter
WS (9:42) — Derek Studer 8-yard reception from Reeves, Knox kick
WS (6:05) — Fleming 34-yards run, Knox kick
WS (1:18) — Nate Akers 1-yard run, Knox kick
Third QuarterWS (11:37) — Aydden Cherry 35-yard reception from Reeves, Knox kick
Fourth Quarter
No Scoring
Individual Statistics
South Stokes — Rushing: Keymani Brown 15-8, Elijah Tyler 3-(-12), Amari Conrad 3-21; Passing: Tyler 8-18-2 34-yards; Receiving: Desian Leeper 1-6, Brown 2-1, Conrad 1-5, Parker Barron 4-22.
West Stokes — Rushing: Lindann Fleming 9-151-2 TDS, Sam Reeves 5-35-TD, Aydden Cherry 2-(-3), Nate Akers 2-6-TD, Alex Pegram 3-5, Austin Rierson 1-(-1); Passing: 8-11-1 116-yards, 3 TDs; Receptions: Mikah Webster 1-15-TD, Cherry 3-47-TD, Akers 1-0, Derek Studer 3-54-TD.
Records: West Stokes 1-0, South Stokes 0-1
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