By Dan Stillwell
NEW RICHMOND — Kevin Grogg wasn’t surprised by Rob Harley’s three-touchdown, 201-yard performance against Westside Friday night.
He knew it was just a matter of time.
“Rob has the potential, but he likes to lay the ball on the ground,” Grogg said of the fleet, 5-foot-11 junior halfback. “It’s a confidence thing, and he works on it every day in practice.”
Harley had several fumbles earlier in the season, but he didn’t cough up the ball once as Wyoming East captured its annual battle with its county rival, 29-0.
Instead he burned through the Renegades defense for touchdowns of 40, 82 and 42 yards, all in the second half.
“When you’ve got speed, anything can happen,” Westside coach Darren Thomas said. “Harley just outran everybody we had.”
The Class AA 13th-ranked Warriors held just a slim 8-0 lead going into the third quarter. Senior tailback Cory Willard had run for 83 yards in the first half, including a 7-yard touchdown on the sixth play of the game, and had also scored the conversion on a busted kick attempt.
But Westside (4-4) had put the clamps on him in the second half, as well as containing the Warriors’ stellar passing game.
Sophomore quarterback Thad Grogg was held without a touchdown pass for the first time this season. While he did not throw an interception, he completed just 8-of-17 passes for 105 yards.
Harley had gained 22 yards on four carries in the first half, but ran like a man possessed in the third and fourth periods.
On the 40-yarder he went off left tackle, then cut against the grain and raced to the right sideline to easily outpace the Renegade defenders.
The 82-yarder saw him burst through the line like a rocket.
“We took care of the passing game and Willard, but Rob just killed us,” Thomas said.
Harley will certainly gives remaining Warrior opponents Man, Liberty and Independence something to think about.
“Rob’s starting to hold on to the ball in practice, so he’s getting more runs as the season goes on,” Grogg said. “He’s a good runner, and he did a great job tonight.”
Willard finished with 110 yards on the night.
Tailback Tim Tate led Westside with 81 yards on 16 carries. Quarterback Eric bailey was 5-of-11 for 79 yards. He was intercepted twice.
“We still had some arm-tackling going on, but we gang-tackled better tonight,” Grogg said. “We had a lot more people going to the ball.”
Thomas wasn’t too down after the loss. He all too well remembers last season, when the Renegades won just one game.
“Everybody wants to win, but we’ve come a long way since last year,” he said. “The kids played hard. Four plays beat us tonight.”
Westside hosts Summers County Friday.
— E-mail:
dstillwell@register-herald.com
Wyoming East 29, Westside 0
W (2-3) 0 0 0 0 — 0
WE (5-2) 8 0 7 14 — 29
First Quarter
WE — Corey Willard 7 run (Willard run)
Third Quarter
WE — Rob Harley 40 run (Willard kick)
Fourth Quarter
WE — Harley 82 run (Willard kick)
WE — Harley 42 run (Willard kick)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — W: Timmy Tate 16-81, Nick Lambert 3-41, Matt Lambert 11-30, Travis Whitten 2-7, Eric Bailey 15-12. WE: Willard 19-110-1, Harley 11-201-3, Heath Griffith 2-6.
PASSING — W: Bailey 5-11-2-79-0. WE: Thad Grogg 8-17-0-105-0.
RECEIVING — W: Dakota Toler 3-42, Matt Lambert 1-5, Jared Cook 2-9. WE: Blake Cook 5-67, Brandon Belcher 1-24, J.R. Bishop 2-14, Willard 1-9.
TURNOVERS — WE: Willard (int), Blake Cook (int).
