Wake Christian adjusts, then rolls to win against Fayetteville Christian football

Wake Christian was thrown for a loop when Fayetteville Christian deployed offensive and defense schemes the Bulldogs were unprepared for Friday night. But they weren’t flummoxed for long.

After a couple early adjustments, the Bulldogs steamrolled the Warriors en route to a 50-0 win.

“Fayetteville came out with a totally different offense and a totally different defense from what we’ve seen,” said WCA coach Stephen Cochran. “It was a good game plan. But I love how our kids responded, kept their intensity up and overcame that adversity.”

After turnovers on their first two offensive possessions, WCA scored touchdowns on their next six in a row and led 43-0 at halftime, leading to a running clock in the second half.

Turning point

With the game still scoreless midway through the first quarter, the Warriors had first and goal at the WCA 3-yard line after Malik Graddy’s 36-yard run. But the Bulldogs kept FCA out of the end zone. On fourth and goal, WCA defensive back Paul Gore beat Graddy at the edge and pulled down the speedy FCA tailback for a 4-yard loss on fourth and goal.

They said it

“We had trouble catching the ball [in warm-ups]. A lot of our game is pass, probably 70 percent of it is pass. So that was a problem. But we figured it out.” – Wake Christian junior Connor Collins.

Three who mattered

Connor Collins: The WCA running back/linebacker was a menace. He blocked one punt, got a piece of another, and recovered another blocked punt for a touchdown. He also had a 17-yard touchdown run and a 9-yard reception.

Trevon Muse: WCA senior wide receiver had just two touches on the night, but he was electric on both, one an 18-yard TD run, the other a 41-yard dash. His 59 rushing yards were the game-high.

Aaron Mclamb: WCA running back/linebacker had the Bulldogs’ longest play from scrimmage – a 43-yard run – and recovered a fumble.

By the numbers

10.5: yards per rush for WCA in 1st half. They ran 22 times for 231 yards.

15: Bulldogs to have at least 1 carry

3: Wake Christian scoring drives of two plays or less.

6: different players to score a touchdown for Wake Christian

This story was originally published September 25, 2015 at 10:39 PM with the headline "Wake Christian adjusts, then rolls to win against Fayetteville Christian football."