Woodruff Throttles Union County in Regular Season Finale

Wolverines Enter Play-offs Riding Wave of Momentum After Another Blowout Win

By: Garrett Mitchell, Staff Writer

garrett@thewoodrufftimes.com

The Woodruff Wolverines just keep on keeping on.

In their regular season finale, Woodruff (9-1, 4-0) raced to a 22-0 first quarter lead and never looked back as the Wolverines hammered Union County 43-6.

Aiden Gibson wasted no time getting Woodruff on the board. The junior running back sensation scored the first of his four touchdowns on the Wolverines’ first offensive snap, bouncing around the right side for a 39-yard score. Gibson would score again on a short run on the next drive, followed by a 14-yard strike from Connor Davis to senior wide receiver Dre Jenkins to up the lead to 22-0.

Woodruff would initiate cruise control from there.

Gibson scored his third touchdown from inside the five-yard line late in the second period to give Woodruff a 29-0 halftime lead, and added his fourth score of the night on a one-yard run late in the third.

The Wolverines capped their scoring in the final minutes on a Davis-to-Curtis Bell strike for 27 yards.

It was not always a crisp effort for Woodruff, but head coach Brett Sloan told his team after the game that winning is hard, no matter the opponents’ record.

“I thought we played pretty clean in the first half, then we come out in the second half a little flat,” said Sloan. “There’s a lot of things we definitely have to do better but a lot of it had to do with we were rotating a lot of people. We had to move some people around. Like I told (the team), guys, it’s a really good opportunity to go out and build depth. It was a learning experience for us.”

Union County (1-9, 0-4) scored their only touchdown on a 48-yard run by Micah Wallace with just over eight minutes to play in the game. The Yellow Jackets were stymied by the Wolverines’ fierce front seven, tallying only 164 yards of total offense including only 21 passing yards on the night.

Wallace led the Yellow Jackets with 54 rushing yards on six attempts. Dreshawn Mills added 51 yards on 17 carries.

“The defense played really hard,” added Coach Sloan. “I hate we lost the gap there and gave up a touchdown run. The guys wanted a shutout. I was really hoping they would get it but they played really well and I am very proud of their effort.”

Davis completed 18-29 passes for 223 yards for Woodruff, Bell led all receivers with seven receptions for 94 yards, and Gibson, who carried the ball only 13 times in the rout, tacked on 104 yards to his season total which now stands at 1,284 yards and 19 touchdowns.

Kori Moates also had a nice night for the Wolverines, totaling 71 receiving yards on four catches.

Woodruff turns the page to the class 3A play-offs where they boast the number two overall seed in the upper-state bracket. The Wolverines will host the West Oak Warriors, the last place team in Region 1, in the first round.

“Every game is a big game from here on out,” Sloan said. “It’s win and keep playing or lose and go home so, you know, the consequences riding on each game are much bigger.”