Wildcats Pull Away From Longhorns
By Michael Finnegan / Special Contributor
Lake Highlands scored six straight touchdowns in the second quarter to pull away for a 55-22 victory over W.T. White on Friday at Loos Stadium.
The Wildcats (3-4, 2-2) scored first on Tyson Washington’s 7-yard run to cap a 66-yard drive with just over seven minutes to play in the opening quarter.
(ABOVE: Marcus McClanahan rushed for 257 yards and a touchdown during a 55-22 loss to Lake Highlands on Friday. Photo: Chris McGathey)
The Longhorns (1-6, 1-3) sustained a long drive of their own, driving the ball 60 yards before coughing up a fumble at the Lake Highlands 20-yard line.
The Wildcats then reeled off 41 points in the second quarter to take a commanding 48-0 at halftime.
“The turnover late in the first quarter hurt us,” said first-year WTW head coach Tony Johnson. “We gained the momentum and were driving to tie the score.”
Leading 7-0 after the fumble, the Wildcats extended the lead to 14-0 on Mitchell Coulson’s 2-yard dive up the middle. After recovering an onside kick, Lake Highlands pushed the lead to 21-0 when Noelle Whitehead scored on a 28-yard run.
WTW actually out-gained the Wildcats on the ground, led by quarterback’s Marcus McClanahan’s 257 yards. But the Longhorns could not get much going in the passing game, tallying just 13 yards on two completions.
“Blocking was tremendous all night,” said Johnson. “We had two guys rush for over 100 yards, but we had a hard time stopping them on the other side of the ball.”
Lake Highlands increased the lead to 55-0 on its opening possession of the second half when Coulson connected with Ta’Moz Britton-Thomas on a 58-yard touchdown strike. Coulson finished the night with 279 yards passing and two touchdowns, both to Britton-Thomas.
WTW put together an eight-play, 77-yard drive and got on the board when Chance Carey rushed for a 7-yard touchdown to make the score 55-6.
On the next possession, McClanahan reached the end zone on an 80-yard quarterback keeper. WTW scored again on a 67-yard run by Chris Adkins, who finished with 108 yards on just 11 carries.
Since snapping a 14-game losing streak two weeks ago against Molina, the Longhorns have allowed a combined 120 points in two lopsided defeats.
