Sports - November 2003

Wolves season ends in 2nd round of the playoffs

By JOHN MARK BROOKS, Staff Writer

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Two seniors showed grit and determination Friday night when the Cummings Cavaliers defeated the Lincolnton Wolves 35-7 in the second round of the 2A State Playoffs.

Cavs quarterback Bo Williamson completed 11-16 passes for 205 yards and three touchdowns despite a deep thigh bruise in the first quarter.

Although the injury slowed him he was still effective Head coach Scott Cloninger was impressed with Williamson’s willingness to stay in the game.

“We got to him and nicked him up a little bit. That’s the beast in a great athlete, if he’s a little hurt he’ll rally people around him and do a good job,” he said of the 5’10” 140 pound quarterback.

Williamson’s favorite target was Brandon Tate who caught three balls for 136 yards with one touchdown.

For the Wolves, running back Darren Wilson, who has rushed for over 1,300 yards and 20 touchdowns on the year, was the other senior who was mentally tough enough to battle a turf-toe injury that he suffered also in the first quarter.

 Wilson finished the game with 70 yards on 20 carries, but was not so effective after the first quarter.

Cloninger was like a proud father talking about his 6’0” 190 pound tailback.

“He sucked it up and was able to play the rest of the game where a lot of people couldn’t even do that. That’s the character of a winner he gave us a chance to stay competitive,” he said.

The first points of the contest came with Williamson hooking up with Durrell Mapp for a 26-yard touchdown on fourth down. With the Wolves still in the game Brandon Tate scored a 70-yard punt return to make the score 13-0 at halftime. Cloninger said that play was a big momentum shift in the ball game.

“One of the big turning points of the game was in our special teams where they returned a punt for that touchdown,” he said.

The biggest letdown, and a play that devastated the Wolves’ hope, came on a fourth and 39 play as Williamson threw to a wide-open Tate for a 73-yard touchdown to make the score 21-0. A little over four minutes after that Williamson threw his final touchdown on the night a 15-yarder to Trevokas Reaves creating a 28 point deficit.

Last week Cloninger had compared Cummings’ elusiveness and quickness to a herd of deer. After the game he said that comparison was pretty accurate.

“I didn’t think I was far off when I was talking about the deer. They have a collection of athletes with exceptional speed,” he said.

The Cavaliers put their final points on the board courtesy of a 21-yard touchdown run by Tony Leath late in the game. The only score for the Wolves, who avoided a shutout, came with 1:25 left via a 5-yard run by junior Dusty Friday.

Lincolnton’s coach was pleased with the courageous fight the Wolves had.

 “I was proud of them. I thought they came down and played hard, playing a very good team. I don’t think the score was an indication of how well we played at times,” Cloninger said.

Cloninger said that the biggest problem Cummings poses is their multiple looks on offense.

“You spend so much time in game preparation to defend them that it hurts your overall game prep. You don’t have enough time to deal with special teams and offense. They are very tough to prepare for,” he said.

Wolves’ linebacker Bradley Dalrymple and defensive end Eric Wilson didn’t come off the field for one snap. Cloninger feels they are the true definition of the word ironmen.

“Bradley and Eric never come off the field. They played great. I would attribute our success this year to our seniors,” he said.

Lincolnton defensive back and wideout Terrell Phelps had perhaps his best game of the season giving the Wolves great field position on kickoffs and in run support making tackles on Cavalier ball carriers. Cloninger raved about Phelps’ effort.

“I thought he matched them step for step, speed for speed. He had a great game for us offensively and defensively. He played as well as he’s played all year for us. In big games great players step it up,” he said.

A bright spot on the night was Wilson, Alex Mullen and Pedro Fonseca getting consistent pressure on the speedy Williamson all night. The pressure resulted in several sacks. Cloninger was happy with Fonseca’s ability to stay healthy this year.

“He was able to put together a full year and played very well for us,” he said.

Moved up from JV Demory Williams had several good kickoff returns. Lance Friday, also moved up, saw significant playing time on defense.

Senior players Dalrymple, Jordy Jefferies and Brian Ebert all made contributions in their last game in black and gold. Jefferies had a 45-yard pass reception. Ebert recorded his seventh interception of the season. Dalrymple had several hard hits and played his usual stellar ball game.

Although the Wolves season comes to an end, Cloninger said that should take nothing away from the character that his kids have exhibited all season long.

“This football team represented Lincolnton as a town and a high school in a first-class manner,” he said.

© 2001 Lincoln Times-News  

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