There wasn’t much Bruce could do to slow down East Webster quarterback Jack Wilson and the rest of the Wolverines offense last Friday in a 42-27 loss.
The junior Wilson led East Webster (8-2, 3-1 Region 4-2A) to touchdown drives on each of its first four possessions. Most of Wilson’s damage was done on the ground, but he was efficient in the passing game as well. Wilson accounted for 156 yards rushing on 28 carries and two touchdowns, and also was 12-of-20 passing for 188 yards and two more touchdowns.
“He’s tough. Tough, tough, tough. Plays hard. It’s what you want your quarterback to do,” Bruce head coach James Ray said. “I thought our kids fought hard. They kept coming back and coming back. We just couldn’t stop them.”
Ray and the rest of the Bruce (2-7, 0-3 Region 4-2A) coaching staff had prepared for a similar offense to what East Webster had displayed the two weeks ago against Calhoun City. The Wolverines lost 44-17 to the Wildcats on October 10 and decided to change things.
“They came out in a completely different offense than we’d seen on any film we had. We just weren’t in the right spots to defend it,” Ray said. “They had backs in the backfield (on film). They were running a lot of the same plays, but never from an empty-back set. It just put us in a bind defensively. We made an adjustment at halftime and thought that was going to be the answer.”
Bruce took the lead on the game’s opening possession following a nine-play, 67-yard drive that used nearly four minutes of game clock. The Trojans were without offensive starters Jamar Brown and Jay Johnson who were suspended for the first half for a violation of team rules, but it did little to impact the offense on its initial drive.
A total of seven different Bruce players touched the ball on the drive, and D.J. Glaspie scored the touchdown on a 5-yard sweep to the right. However, East Webster matched the opening score with a touchdown of its own following a 61-yard drive.
Bruce punted on its next offensive possession, and East Webster drove 75 yards in 5:28 to take a lead it would not relinquish. The Wolverines stretched the lead to 21-7 following an interception, but the Trojans special teams responded.
Glaspie returned the ensuing kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown that brought Bruce within 21-14. But East Webster again increased the lead to 14 points following a 28-yard touchdown pass from Wilson to Deangelo Liggins.
Bruce, though, made one final attempt to regain the momentum before halftime. East Webster led 28-14 and was driving for what looked like another score with less than one minute remaining in the first half. The Trojan defense stiffened in its own territory and forced a 42-yard field goal attempt with :43 seconds left that was wide left. Three plays later the Trojans’ offense scored to make it 28-21. Tyrone Corbitt rushed for 35 yards to the East Webster 40-yard line, and after an incomplete pass quarterback Wesley Ross found Tyrique Armstrong for a touchdown up the left sideline.
“I thought the momentum was going to swing our way,” Ray said. “When we scored right there before halftime and made it 28-21, you have to feel good about that after being down 21-7. I thought we did the right things, we made the right adjustments, it just didn’t work out for us in the end.”
East Webster punted on its first possession of the second half, but then returned an interception 21 yards for a touchdown. Bruce was never closer than the final margin of victory following the interception.
The Wolverines outgained the Trojans 425-329, which included a 318-184 edge after the first half. Brown returned in the second half for Bruce and had 99 yards on four carries and one touchdown. Armstrong had 96 yards receiving and one touchdown, and Glaspie had nearly 200 total yards and two touchdowns for the Trojans.
Bruce will play Okolona in the final regular season game on Friday.
“We’re just going to regroup,” Ray said. “We’ve got one more game left, maybe we can get in the playoffs, and just see where it goes from there.”