Wetumpka rode a great display from both its offense and defense Friday night as it coasted to a 49-7 win over Russell County.
“It was the execution we wanted to see,” said head coach Bear Woods. “I feel like we’ve hit a groove with what our weekly schedule is. I think we saw that tonight as well.”
Quarterback Nate Rogers accounted for 225 total yards and three touchdowns in the dominant showing by the Indians.
Rogers opened the game with a 70-yard pass and punched it in the next play with a 9-yard touchdown run.
The offense kept rolling when Rogers threw a jump ball to wide receiver Quashawn Wright. Wright, heavily guarded, secured a perfectly placed pass in the end zone as Wetumpka jumped out to a 14-0 lead.
“Proud of Nate. He’s a leader,” Woods said. “He’s maturing every day in a way that kids his age do not mature. We’re thankful and he is beloved by his teammates and he loves his teammates.”
Rogers was not the only offensive standout for Wetumpka. Jamarion Thrasher also put together an impressive stat line with 102 yards. Thrasher’s night was highlighted by a 67-yard touchdown run down the sideline that put the Indians up by three scores.
Running back Michael Dillard showed his worth by entering the game when Thrasher was forced off due to injury. Already in the red zone, Wetumpka handed the ball to Dillard on four straight plays, and Dillard found the end zone to stretch Wetumpka’s lead.
Defensively, Wetumpka was just as good. The Wetumpka defense scored two touchdowns while holding Russell County to just one, the lone touchdown surrendered was after Russell County returned an onside kick to the 12-yard line.
On a third-and-long for Russell County, its QB hoisted a prayer deep downfield, but cornerback Tristan Bennett got under the ball and picked it off. Bennett made a few Russell County players miss and followed his blockers for a touchdown for the first defensive touchdown of the game.
Two drives later, Wetumpka struck again defensively. Jushon Fleming intercepted a pass after an awkward bounce off a Russell County player’s shoulder pad and walked into the end zone. The interception was only a part of Fleming’s monstrous night as he also recorded two tackles for loss including a sack.
Woods, who spent 11 years playing football professionally as a linebacker, has high expectations for his defense and said that he wants to see this kind of performance every week.”
“We score on defense. That’s something we expect to do,” Woods said. “What we do is eventually going to make you give us the ball. It’s not our first defensive score, and it won’t be our last.”
Wetumpka faces Greenville for its homecoming game next Friday. For Woods, he was pleased with the play against Russell County but is now focused on Greenville.
“It’s just on to next Friday night,” Woods said. “It’s homecoming night against Greenville. We got to prepare and get ready for that football game, and we got to do it again.”
