Damron leads Wayne to convincing win over Mavericks

By Tom Bone

LINDSIDE — The Wayne Pioneers put up another convincing argument for No. 1 in Class AA, and inexperience cost the No. 2 James Monroe Mavericks on a rainy Friday night at H.E. Comer Jr. Sports Complex.

The Pioneers got 215 yards rushing and three touchdowns from Corey Damron and raced to a 31-10 victory in the season opener for the Mavericks, who had knocked Wayne out of the playoffs in the semifinal round last November.

Don Jackson, starting his second tenure as James Monroe head coach, said, “We knew going in that they were very good, and they confirmed it. ... I don’t know of anybody who’s any better.

“Actually, we got beat 31-10, but we were kind of pleased with the results. Coming in, our two scrimmages really weren’t the greatest. We’ve really come a long way in the last two weeks, and I think we’re going to keep getting better.”

Wayne coach Tom Harmon said, “We’ve had some kids who have matured up front. They’re doing a nice job right now. But ... it’s a continuing process.”

Asked whether there was added incentive playing the Mavericks, Harmon said, “In all honesty, you can’t get too excited about a Game 2. It was a nice fan game, for people around the state to watch ... but we are concerned about getting into the playoffs and having our best possible football team.”

Damron punched the ball up the middle and scored the first touchdown on a 60-yard run. Quarterback Joey Ferguson got the next TD, two plays after end Adam Frazier tossed a surprise 29-yard pass to Jason Thompson.

Damron’s 3-yard run early in the second quarter, combined with Josh Meddings’ kick, gave Wayne a 21-0 lead.

The Mavericks followed that with a 10-play march to get their only touchdown on the night, a 1-yard plunge by Nick Kisiel. A short field goal by Meddings made the score 24-7 at halftime.

Wayne was sharp coming out of the dressing room, tallying its final touchdown in just three plays, with Damron running it up the middle from 38 yards out.

James Monroe worked the ball downfield on its next possession. Quarterback John Ballengee hit Logan Ray for a 44-yard completion to the Wayne 10, and the Mavs got to the 6-yard line before turning to Ray for a short field goal that ended the game’s scoring.

Wayne ran up 419 yards on the ground and 52 through the air.

Taylor Robertson played quarterback and tailback for the Mavericks and was called on for 17 rushes that netted 54 yards. He was 4-for-10 passing for 21 yards with an interception. Ballengee was 3-for-4 for 59 yards in the Mavericks’ newly minted passing game.

Jackson said, “If we keep getting better and keep trying, I think we can win some football games. It’s just a shame that we had to open there with a team that tough.”

Wayne 31, James Monroe 10

W (2-0) 14 10 7 0 — 31

JM (0-1) 0 7 3 0 — 10

First Quarter

W: Cory Damron 60 run (Josh Meddings kick)

W: Joey Ferguson 8 run (Meddings kick)

Second Quarter

W: Damron 3 run (Meddings kick)

JM: Nick Kisiel 1 run (Logan Ray kick)

W: Meddings 24 field goal

Third Quarter

W: Damron 38 run (Meddings kick)

JM: Ray 24 field goal

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — W: Damron 19-215-3, Jason Thompson 14-93, Ferguson 5-51, Adam Frazier 2-25. JM: Taylor Robertson 16-45, Kisiel 8-12, Jake Williams 2-8.

PASSING — W: Ferguson 3-9-0-24-0, Frazier 1-1-0-30-0. JM: John Ballengee 3-4-0-58-0, Robertson 4-9-1-31-0.

RECEIVING — W: Thompson 2-33, Dustin Shreve 2-21. JM: Ray 3-75, Kisiel 4-14.