On a warm, humid October evening, the Wilson Warriors proved to be too much for West Limestone to handle, taking the Class 4A, Region 8 contest 21-7

The Warriors wasted no time getting started. On the opening drive and the third play of the game, senior wide receiver Colby Scott showed off his explosiveness, taking it to the house on a 75 yard jet sweep. The successful extra point put the Warriors ahead 7-0 just a minute and a half into the game.

The Wildcats weren’t able to immediately respond, going three and out on their opening drive. However, a fumbled punt return by Wilson was recovered by West Limestone deep in Wilson territory.

Freshman running back Brett Beckworth was able to shoulder the load, as he plowed into the end zone from 5 yards out to even the score at 7-7 with 7:00 left in the opening quarter. Unfortunately for the Wildcats, that would prove to be their only score of the game.

While not putting up big offensive numbers, Wilson controlled the clock and never seemed to leave the game in too much doubt.

Wilson looked to be close to another scoring drive on their next possession. Junior quarterback Chris Silva and senior running back Jacob Blasingame showed elusiveness and power in running the ball deep into Wildcat territory.

However, the Wildcat defense came up big, stripping Silva of the football on a would-be first down run and recovering. Unfortunately for West Limestone, though, they were unable to come up with a response on offense.

The next score came late in the second quarter. Wilson used a long, 87 yard scoring drive that would last over half of the second quarter to take command of the game.

A couple of big throws by Silva and a huge fourth down conversion from SIlva to Scott put the Warriors in prime scoring position deep in Wildcat territory. Just a few plays later, Silva hit a wide open Brycen Parrish in the endz one for a 4-yard touchdown to make it 14-7 Warriors just seconds before the half.

Flags and sloppiness were the story of the second half. Numerous flags wiped out first downs on the Wildcats and aided the Warriors. Each team exchanged lost fumbles on their first possessions of the second half.

However, Wilson finally found paydirt again late in the third quarter. A 69 yard scoring drive would result in the final touchdown of the game. Big runs and completions by Silva set the Warriors up with first and goal at the Wildcat 4. Blasingame rammed the ball into the end zone, giving the Warriors a comfortable buffer of 21-7 just seconds before the end of the 3rd quarter.

The Wildcats really couldn’t find any success on offense until their final drive. With less than four minutes left and down by two touchdowns, the Wildcat passing game came to life some. However, Wilson’s defense tightened, forcing a turnover on downs with less than two minutes left. They ran out the clock to finish off West Limestone 21-7.

After the game, West Limestone Head Coach Shelby Davis was succinct.

“We made a lot of penalties and lots of mistakes tonight,” he said.

The loss drops the Wildcats to 3-3 on the season. 1-2 in region play. Wilson improves to 2-4. 1-3 in region play.

Next week, West Limestone travels to play at Rogers, while Wilson travels to take on Elkmont.