Wharton snags victory from Chamberlain, 20-17(OT)
Derrick Roberts
Going into this game I didn’t know what to expect, but by the end of the night this game was full of surprises. This was a hard fought classic fight to the finish type of game with both teams playing their hearts out to get the first victory of the season. The Wildcats look really confident with the return of QB Chase Litton, but this night would belong to two running backs with two different running styles, Chamberlain’s Xavier Johnson with his quickness, and Wharton’s Darius Paige with his pounding. Junior Xavier Johnson carried the ball 34 times for a game-high 232 yards 2TDs and senior Darius Paige had 21 carries for 144 yards a 3TDs. Paige also had 4 catches for 58 yards.
In the first quarter both offensive units wanted to establish a running game. After each team went three and out on their first series of game, Wharton put a drive together, but could not put any points on the board. With 2:48 left in the quarter Wharton attempted a FG, but was block by Chiefs SS Carlin Scott. At the end of the first quarter the score was 0-0.
In the second quarter, both teams continued to pound the ball. Chamberlain finally got into the Wildcats territory with 3:51 left in the quarter. Chiefs were going to attempt an FG but two costly penalties by the Wildcats put Chamberlain in a situation in which it was 4th and Goal on the three yard line going in. Chamberlain decided to go for it and Xavier Johnson punched it for the first touchdown of the game giving the Chiefs an 7-0 lead. Wharton responded right back with a drive of its own,with Darius Paige scoring on a 11-yard run. However, with a missed extra point, the score was 7-6 Chamberlain going into the half.
After a quiet 3rd quarter with the score still 7-6, the 4th quarter is when the game got really good. In the beginning of the 4th the Wildcats controlled the the clock by using 7:00 minutes and 89 yards to finish the drive with an 2-yard TD run and 2point conversion by Paige, the Wildcats took the lead at 14-7 with 5:00 minutes left. But that didn’t bother Chamberlain, because the Chiefs contiuned to run the ball. With a big 53-yard run by Johnson and nice 10-yard scramble from QB Josh Bennett. Johnson scored for the second time of the night on a 2-yard run making the score 14-14 with 2:47 left. Wharton made an nice attempt to try and put together a winning drive to win the game, but could not convert on 4th down on Chamberlain’s 39 yard line. Which sent the game into overtime.
In OT, Chamberlain got the ball first settling for a Neal MacInnes FG giving the Chamberlain a 17-14 lead. When Wharton got the ball it only took one play. Paige scored on a 10-yard run giving the Wildcats the victory 20-17.
Scoring Summary
2nd-Ch-Johnson 3yd run(MacInnes kick)
2nd-W-Paige11yd run (kicked failed)
4th-W-Paige 2yd run(Paige 2pt conversion)
4th-Ch-Johnson 2yd run (MacInnes kick)
OT-Ch-MacInnes 20 yd FG
OT-W- Paige 10yd run
Stats
Passing
W-Litton-10/21 for 144 yards 0TD,0INT
Rushing
Wharton
Paige-21 carries 144yards 3TDs
Green-8 carries 38yards
Chamberlain
Johnson-34 carries 232 yards 2TDs
Recieving
Wharton
Paige-4 catches 58 yards
Kiel- 2 catches 21 yards