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Plano West rains supreme over North Mesquite
BY Kevin Hageland, khageland@acnpapers.com
MESQUITE -- North Mesquite head coach Mike Robinson could have blamed the rain Friday night for the Stallions' (3-1) poor performance in a 27-10 loss to Plano West (2-1).
He did not.
"No, the weather had nothing to do with it," Robinson said. "We just had one thing go wrong and then another and then things kind of snowballed on us."
Those were the only points of the half for North, which mustered just 20 yards of offense in the first two quarters. The reminder of its possessions ended in punts (forced by sacks from West seniors Blair Edwards, Ike Egege and Bryce Cottrell) and an interception by Wolves junior Davis Roeschke.
"We have been stressing defense and our defense was outstanding tonight," said Mike Hughes, West head coach. "Cottrell and Egege did a really good job rushing off the edge."
The North defense had its moments as well.
West got the ball twice in North territory in the first half, one courtesy of a kickoff return from senior Carlos Wiggins to the 8-yard line, but came away with only a 22-yard field goal from junior Zack Myer that knotted the game, 3-3.
West had more success with a longer field.
After converting a fourth-and-1 from their own 47-yard line on a sneak by senior quarterback Carson Smith, Wiggins took it to the house from 51 yards to give West a 10-3 lead that would stand up at the break. Wiggins was the lone consistent offensive threat for West on Friday, rushing for 136 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries.
"Carlos is a big play guy," Hughes said, "and he really stepped up for us tonight."
After a standout first half, West's defense turned it up in the third quarter.
"At the half we went in and told the guys we were going to hold them defensively and put some more points up on the board," Hughes said. "And that's what happened."
North had five drives in the third. The Stallions came away with a missed field goal, two punts, an interception, a fumble and three total yards as West's lead grew from 10-3 to 20-3 with a 31-yard Myer field goal and 12-yard touchdown run from Smith. The Wolves quarterback threw for only 40 yards, but picked up 47 yards rushing on 13 carries.
"We were playing catch up," Robinson said. "There's only certain things you can call and run in those situations and West did a good job of stopping them."
West junior Jake Wodka snagged the interception with Edwards grabbing the fumble.
"Every drive was three-and-out, three-and-out," said Grant Cooper, West senior defensive back. "It was amazing."
After amassing a 20-3 lead, West's offense ran into trouble. The Wolves fumbled the ball on three consecutive drives with North senior Darik Walker recovering two of them.
"The turnovers were definitely troubling," Hughes said. "We've got to take care of the ball and be more consistent on offense."
The second of West's fumbles led to a 34-yard touchdown between Stallions senior quarterback King Davis and senior receiver Branden Myles that made it 20-10 with 10:42 remaining in the game. Myles was Davis' favorite target, hauling in four receptions for 44 yards, but that connection was one of the few bright spots for Davis as he completed 7-of-24 passes for 62 yards and three interceptions.
North wouldn't get any closer as the Stallions' vaunted ground game was largely held in check. Senior Demarcus Luke and Anthony Sims combined for 70 yards rushing on 23 carries.
From there, it was only fitting West's defense would shut the door as senior Jordan Robinson blocked a punt and returned it to the Stallions' 4-yard line.
"I think that punt block was big," Robinson said. "It gave our whole team a boost."
Both mentally and on the scoreboard as Wiggins ran it in from 3 yards out two plays later to make it 27-10, which would also be the final score.
"Obviously this is a big win for us," Hughes said. "Any win is big for us, but especially when we beat a team as good as North Mesquite."
The defense can take plenty of credit for the win as West allowed North just 95 yards of total offense.
"We have been learning the new system more and more the last few weeks," Cooper said, "and I think we are finally becoming a unit."
Robinson was quick to echo that statement.
"The last two weeks we have all pulled together and been doing a great job," he said.
West will need to keep that momentum going as it opens District 8-5A play at 7:30 p.m. Friday from Goldsmith Stadium against Lewisville.
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