The Scots varsity football team beat the J. J. Pearce Mustangs 45-20 at their last regular home game of the season on Nov. 3.
Starting senior quarterback Warren Peck has been out for the season so senior quarterback Parker Thompson has been subbing in.
“He did a real good job,” offensive coordinator Grayson Wells said. “He rushed for 100 yards and threw for almost 200 [yards]. He ran the offense well, had a good completion percentage and had some really big runs.”
The first quarter started strong for the Scots as senior running-back Wilson Axley rushed for 15 yards.
Axley scored the first touchdown of the night for the team with ten minutes left in the first quarter. Senior punter Nicholas Rigas made the extra point, so the score was 7-0.
The Mustangs received the ball for their first possession. Mustangs senior quarterback Ray Long attempted to gain yardage but was sacked by senior linebacker Cormac Caroll. This pushed the Mustangs back to the 25-yard-line.
The Mustangs quickly recovered as the team scored their first touchdown of the night. The extra point was secured, making the game tied 7-7 with 7:24 minutes left in the quarter.
With four minutes left, Scots senior cornerback Wes Giese almost caught an interception for the Scots, but it was ruled as an incomplete pass.
The Scots received the ball back, and Thompson ran for 27 yards to the 10-yard-line in an attempt to score, allowing Senior running-back Keller Holmes to follow-up with a five yard touchdown. Rigas made the extra point, making the score 14-0 with 1:46 minutes to go.
In the second quarter, junior outside-linebacker Anders Corn recovered a turnover by the Mustangs with 11:27 minutes left.
An injury timeout was called by the Scots as senior offensive-lineman Case Pickelman’s arm injury resurfaced. Pickelman walked off the field with 10:45 minutes left.
“I sprained my labrum trying to help my running-back with a block,” Pickelman said. “I personally believe I would’ve been fine to go back in but the coaches didn’t want to risk anything with the playoffs coming up.”
With 8:28 minutes left, Holmes made his second touchdown of the night. The score was 21-7.
When the Mustangs got the ball back, Mustangs sophomore running-back Luke Casagrande ran 56 yards to the 20-yard-line with 8:05 minutes left. After the run, Corn sacked Long and the ball was punted back to the Scots.
When the Scots received the ball back, Thompson threw the ball to Axley, and Axley ran in for a 61-yard touchdown with 6:30 minutes left. The score was 28-7.
When the Mustangs got the ball back, Long dropped the ball but recovered and passed the ball to the endzone. Scots senior cornerback Jack McCallum almost caught an interception but the ball fell towards the end zone. In the next play, Long passed and McCallum caught the ball again for a second interception, making it the Scots’ ball. Three flags were called on the play. First was a personal foul on Scots senior linebacker John Allen. Another call was made on an interception, moving the Scots up half the distance to the goal, and gave them an automatic first down with 1:34 minutes left in the half.
Thompson ran 68 yards for a touchdown, but a holding penalty on senior Steel Tobin pushed the team back 10 yards from the spot of the foul.
With 15 seconds left, Thompson passed to senior wide receiver Canon Spackman for a five yard touchdown. The score was 35-7 going into halftime.
Midway through the third quarter, the Mustangs scored a touchdown with 6:31 minutes left. The score was 35-14.
Holmes made his third touchdown of the night by rushing three yards to the endzone. With 3:59 minutes left, the score was 42-14.
“[Scoring the touchdown] was unmatched,” Holmes said. “It was just fun and it was good to see [my offensive linemen] happy when I scored.”
Both teams went back and forth with their possession of the ball, but neither was able to score through the rest of the third quarter.
The Scots began the fourth quarter with possession of the ball. Thompson and the offense attempted to score a touchdown, but were unsuccessful. Rigas and the punting team walked out, and Rigas scored his first field goal of the night. The score was 45-14 with 10:26 minutes left.
When the Mustangs got the ball back, a face mask penalty on Scots senior defensive line Hunter Hawsey resulted in half the distance to the goal at the end of the run, and an automatic first down for the Mustangs.
Mustangs senior wide receiver Jack McGarry scored a touchdown. The Mustangs attempted a two-point-conversion, but fumbled the ball. The ball was recovered by Scots senior safety Andrew Wade, making it the Scot’s ball. The score was 45-20.
The Scot’s received the ball, and kneeled. The clock struck 0:00, and the Scots won 45-20.
“It was a great feeling to know that we were district champions after the win,” Pickelman said. “It was also a great feeling knowing we were able to get every senior some playing time in the game.”
Wells agrees and praises the team for their season accomplishments.
“I thought we did a great job and we finished the season 9-1,” Wells said. “[Pearce] presented some difficulties for our defense but our defense did a great job when it counted. Offensively [J. J. Pearce] did some things that we were concerned about but we worked on those and did a good job.”
The Scots play their first Bi-District Championship game against Arlington Colts this Friday, Nov. 10 at Highlander Stadium.
“We’re all pumped for the Arlington game and every senior is hoping to prove something in our last-ever game played at Highlander Stadium,” Pickelman said.
