Wildcats move to 1-0 in the Mid-State 2A

KING — West Stokes opened up league play by shutting out visiting T.W. Andrews (3-2, 0-1) 33-0 on Sept. 20. The Wildcats are enjoying a four-game winning streak over the Red Raiders since joining the Mid-State 2A Conference for the 2021-22 season.

“I was proud of the effort and performance of our guys tonight,” said West Stokes’ coach Trent Lowman. “We were indoors all week, and you never know how Friday will look after not being able to fully practice, but our guys locked in and performed well.

“As all coaches do, we talk about being 1-0 each week. Our guys did that and that’s how you want to start off (in conference).”

The Wildcats took the opening kickoff and churned up more than half the first quarter game clock with a 14-play drive that ended with Myles Knox making a 29-yard field goal with 6:15 to play. For the second consecutive game Knox opened the scoring for West Stokes and in the process tied a school record with five field goals made in a season.

High Point Andrews’ first drive ended with a punt, but not before picking up 49 of their 116 total yards of offense in the game.

West Stokes blew the game open with three touchdowns in the second quarter and led 24-0 at halftime.

Senior Aydden Cherry dashed 25-yards for the Cats first score of the period on second and 10 with 9:46 on the clock. Fellow senior, Lindann Fleming, hit pay dirt from 50-yards out three minutes later, and then added another from one-yard away with a little over a minute left before the break. Knox connected on all three extra-point attempts.

Andrews took the second half kickoff and moved the ball near midfield before Kobe McMillian recorded back-to-back sacks forcing a punt.

West Stokes used that possession and moved 69 yards in three plays when Fleming added a 34-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Sam Reeves. Knox connected on the extra-point making it 31-0 with 4:51 remaining in the quarter.

The Wildcats closed out the scoring when Tanner Hodcock tackled the Red Raiders’ Anias Daniels for a safety with 2:15 left in the game.

West Stokes totaled more than 300 yards of offense for the fourth time in five games with 318-yards. Fleming ran for more than 100 yards for a second time this year with 132-yards on 14 carries and 2TDs and added three catches for 57 yards and another score. Cherry rushed for 54 yards on seven carries and had two catches for 13 yards. Reeves moved to fifth on the school’s career completion list, going 7-for-16 with 105 yards and a touchdown.

Despite heavily winning the time-of-possession in the second half, T.W. Andrews only gained seven total yards on 28 plays. The Wildcats had five tackles for losses registering four of their five sacks in the game.

Daniel Stanley led the Wildcats’ defensive attack with 13 tackles. McMillian finished with 10 tackles and two sacks, and Nate Akers and Devan Gastley recorded 8-tackles each.

West Stokes has won three consecutive games and improved to 4-1 overall and 1-0 in conference. The Wildcats will take to the road on Sept. 26 and play Morehead (1-4, 0-1) after playing in front of a packed house for three home dates this season.

West Stokes has claimed the top spot in the best game-day environment this season by the.sportsplaybook’s Instagram site.

“The community support and game day atmosphere and attendance is awesome to see and be a part of,” added Lowman. “There are so many people and groups pouring into West Stokes and it’s not just “football,” it’s everything.”

West Stokes 31, T.W. Andrews 0

T.W. Andrews 0 0 0 0 — 0

West Stokes 3 21 7 2 — 33

Scoring

First Quarter

WS (6:15) — Myles Knox 29-yard field goal (3-0)

Second Quarter

WS (9:46) — Aydden Cherry 25-yard run, Knox kick (10-0)

WS (5:05) — Lindann Fleming 50-yard run, Knox kick (17-0)

WS (1:28) — Fleming 1-yard run, Knox kick (24-0)

Third Quarter

WS (4:51) — Fleming 34-yard reception from Sam Reeves, Knox kick (31-0)

Fourth Quarter

WS (2:12) — Tanner Hodock safety (33-0)

Individual Statistics

West Stokes

Rushing: Lindann Fleming 14-132, 2TDs, Sam Reeves 4-21, Aydden Cherry 7-54, TD, Alex Pegram 5-5, Landis Pritchard 1-1

Passing: Sam Reeves 7-16-0, 105-yards, TD

Receptions: Mikah Webster 1-13, Lindann Fleming 3-57, TD, Aydden Cherry 2-13, Nate Akers 1-22

T.W. Andrews

Rushing: Brandon Sturdivant 2-1, David Hill 8-0, Anias Daniels 8-(-18), Darion Avery 17-71

Passing: David Hill 5-10-0, 52-yards, Anias Daniels 1-2-0, 10-yards

Receptions: Lilen Ratley 1-9, Adam Reid 2-14, Darion Avery 3-39

Records: West Stokes 4-1 (1-0), T.W. Andrews 3-2 (0-1)