Joey Guest – Special to the Weakley County Press
Posted: Tuesday, October 20, 2009 6:11 pm
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Spencer completed 13-of-15 passes for 182 yards to lead the Chargers’ offense, which racked up 409 total yards against the Rebels (4-4, 2-2 District 13-AA), while the defense responded to halftime “encouragement” from the Westview coaching staff and shut down an OC offense that was averaging nearly 30 points per game.
“It’s a good win against a good team,” said Charger coach Don Coady, whose team improved to 4-4 overall and 3-1 in District 13-AA. “I was really pleased that we accepted the challenge at halftime and tightened down on defense and really did a good job of moving the football on offense and scoring points.”
It was a huge win for a Charger team that started the season 0-4, only to rebound with four straight wins to even their record and keep playoff aspirations alive as they prepare to visit another district foe, Haywood County, which is 2-2 in district fare and 4-4 overall.
“We’re certainly cognizant of the fact that we just now hit .500. Even though we’ve won four in a row, we have four losses on our record, and we haven’t qualified for the playoffs. We’re going to have to do a good job against a real good Haywood County team this week to keep our playoff hopes alive. But, I like the progress we’ve made, especially defensively. Our kids are playing with a lot more confidence now,” Coady said.
Trailing 8-6 at halftime, Abraham Haddad returned the third-quarter opening kickoff 30 yards and scored six plays later on a 22-yard scamper to cap a 61-yard drive. Spencer hit Matt Melton on a slant pattern for the conversion to put the hosts up 14-8.
On Westview’s next possession, DeMarcus Williams rumbled for a 26-yard gain and Spencer connected with Seth Waterfield for a 34-yard pass as the Chargers completed a seven-play, 89-yard drive with an 8-yard run by Melton and a conversion pass to Brian West from Spencer for a 22-8 advantage late in the third quarter.
The Obion County passing attack, which had completed 6-of-10 passes for 86 yards in the first half, was nearly nullified in the second half, going 7-for-17 for 72 yards with two interceptions after the break. Pickoffs by Tevin Evans and Will Thompson in the final frame were bookends to an eight-play, 78-yard drive topped off by Haddad’s 9-yard rush off left tackle for paydirt. Landon Prather’s PAT provided the final margin of victory, 29-8, at 4:09 of the fourth quarter.
Obion County’s all-purpose performer, Patrick Haskins, who had rushed for more than 250 yards in his two previous games — leading to Westview assistant coach Dan Scates referring to him as one of the best players his team had faced all year — was held mostly in check by the stingy Blue & Gold defense. Haskins was kept out of the end zone and held to 79 yards rushing and 62 yards receiving.
Despite a run-oriented history, Westview was uncharacteristically balanced offensively with 182 yards passing and 227 yards on the ground. Williams led the Charger ball carriers with 72 yards on 17 carries, while Chevy Taylor added 10 rushes for 70 yards. Melton scored two TDs on four carries for 14 total yards, while Haddad added two runs for paydirt on five carries for 44 yards. Spencer’s 30 yards rushing added to his 182 passing yards to give him 212 all-purpose yards in the victory.
Melton and Waterfield each had headline nights receiving, with Melton catching seven balls for 82 yards and Waterfield grabbing three catches for 62 yards.
Westview’s next opponent in its playoff-qualifying quest, Haywood County, lost a tough battle with Ripley in Week 8, 14-13. The two teams have faced one common foe, Gibson County, which Westview defeated 44-0 in Week 7, while Haywood's Tomcats also handled the Pioneers with ease, 46-10, in Week 6.
Editor’s Note: Joey Guest is a free-lance writer and associate editor of Pressbox1.com. He can be reached at joeyguest1@yahoo.com or 731-332-1164.
Obion County-Westview, Stats
Obion County 0 8 0 0—8
Westview 0 6 16 7—29
Second Quarter
WHS — Matt Melton 8 run, (conversion failed), 9:40.
OCCHS – Lucas Fulbright 8 run, (Patrick Haskins run), 3:26.
Third Quarter
WHS – Abraham Haddad 22 run, (Melton pass from Tanner Spencer), 9:36
WHS – Melton 8 run, (Brian West pass from Tanner Spencer), 2:37.
Fourth Quarter
WHS – Haddad 9 run, (Landon Prather kick), 4:09.
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OCCHS WHS
First Downs 15 24
Rushes-yards 32-130 44-227
Passing yards 158 182
Comp-Att-Int 13-27-2 13-15-0
Punts 2-39.5 0-0
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 2-1
Penalties-yards 5-42 3-40
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Individual Statistics
Rushing — Obion County, Patrick Haskins 15-79, Lucas Fulbright 8-37, Thomas Etheridge 4-19, Trey Phipps 3-0, Clint Jones 1-(-2), Brandon Armour 1-(-3). Westview, DeMarcus Williams 17-72, Chevy Taylor 10-70, T; Westview, DeMarcus Williams 17-72, Chevy Taylor 10-70, Abraham Haddad 5-44, Tanner Spencer 6-30, Matt Melton 4-14, Team 2-(-3).
Passing — Obion County, Phipps 11-24-25 101, Etheridge 1-1-0 50, Haskins 1-2-0 7; Westview, Spencer 13-15-0 182.
Receiving — Obion County, Haskins 3-62, Etheridge 3-42, Steven Patton 3-31, Tanner Cary 1-12, Fulbright 3-11; Westview, Melton 7-82, Seth Waterfield 3-62, Mark Tucker 2-24, Taylor 1-14.
Records — Obion County 4-4 (2-2 District 13-AA), Westview 4-4 (3-1 District 13-AA).
Next Game — Obion County will host Gibson County, while Westview will travel to Haywood with kickoff at 7:30 on Friday night.