Brock Netter, Editor
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by Holzer Health System.
WAVERLY — Wheelersburg has been through tough situations and has battled deep into games this season.
But the Pirates hadn’t earned that elusive signature win.
Then came Friday, and Brady Music was ready for the moment.
With less than 30 seconds left, he took a screen pass and picked up a couple of blocks along the way for a 27-yard touchdown, lifting his Pirates to a 27-20 victory over Waverly.
“We’ve been through some battles and definitely been in some deep waters, and this is so huge for us to get a big road win,” Wheelersburg coach Rob Woodward said. “This is one of the best signature wins of my career, in my mind, because of knowing this team, seeing them face adversity and being able to overcome it. These are the kind of wins that really stick with you as a coach and I couldn’t be more proud of these guys.”
Containing a high-powered Waverly offense wasn’t an easy task, and the Tigers (4-4, 1-2 SOC III) came ready for a battle.
After a scoreless first quarter, they struck the scoreboard first when Gunnar Myers threw a 28-yard strike to Hezekiah Nelson in the back of the end zone for the touchdown and a 7-0 lead.
The Pirates (5-3, 3-0 SOC III), however, provided an immediate answer.
They pieced together a long drive, featuring runs from Jay King and Cannan Arthur before King found the end zone on a five-yard run that tied the game at 7-7.
“For the last couple of weeks, we’ve really had a level of focus during practice that we hadn’t had all year,” Wheelersburg’s Hunter Lawson said. “Our confidence has been really high, the offensive line has been blocking much better, and we’re holding each other accountable to make sure everyone is doing their job.”
Waverly responded and took momentum into halftime when Bryson Spangenberg drilled a 23-yard field goal to give it a 10-7 lead.
Taking advantage of having the ball first in the second half, the Tigers drove into scoring position and opted for a jet sweep, which Nelson took nine yards for a touchdown and a 17-7 advantage.
“Waverly is a really good team and Myers is a tough player to contain, much less stop,” Woodward said. “After that drive and score, we made a couple of adjustments and went back to a previous defense that we were running since we were giving up too many big plays.”
CREDIT: Brock Netter/SOSA
It didn’t take long for the Pirates to answer back.
Just a minute and a half later, Arthur busted through the line and sprinted 47 yards up the middle for a touchdown to quickly cut the deficit to 17-13.
After a turnover from each team — Waverly recovered a fumble and Wheelersburg’s Brew Hanzel came down with an interception — the Pirates cashed in when Arthur scored on a one-yard plunge to put them ahead 20-17.
“Cannan ran the ball so hard, and made a ton of great runs while the offensive line was really solid all night,” Woodward said. “Our defense was playing really well, but more important than that, our guys responded so well after we turned the ball over on the one-yard line. It’s things like that which turn you into a championship -ype of team that we want to be. Earlier in the year, we’d let things like that stack up and cost us. But that didn’t phase us in that moment. Waverly made a great play and our defense answered right back by forcing a punt.”
The Tigers answered on the following drive as Spangenburg buried a 36-yard field goal, tying the game at 20-20 with less than nine minutes left.
Both teams managed to get a stop, leaving Wheelersburg with the ball and 1:35 left on the clock.
The Pirates made their way down the field, and found the perfect moment to strike. Facing 3rd and 10, Jack Doerr dropped back and found Music, who became the hero of the night 27 yards later to seal a Pirate victory.
“I was actually lined up on the wrong side at first before we called a timeout to regroup, and Jack got on me a little bit,” Music said. “I was open, caught it and Graer [Woodward] threw a great block down the field to allow me to cut back and find the end zone. The offensive line deserves a lot of credit as well. This was the best game they played all year and they opened a lot of holes for guys to run through.”
Doerr finished the night 10-of-11 passing for 138 yards and a touchdown, while Music had two catches for 43 yards and a score. Arthur had 13 carries for 144 yards and two touchdowns, while King added nine carries for 49 yards and a score.
For Waverly, Myers finished 36-of-49 passing for 294 yards and a touchdown while Nelson finished with 18 catches for 158 yards and a touchdown, alongside a rushing touchdown.
Wheelersburg returns to action on Friday at home against Minford for SOC III action, while Waverly hits the road at Northwest.
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