Worth County showed that it can be as good as it wants to be Friday night at their jamboree. Veritas Christian canceled at the last minute, leaving three teams in Worth County, Stanberry, and Albany.
Albany lost a lot of seniors last year, but still have prize back Seth Kline, who has moved to quarterback this year. On their first possession against Worth County, they tried to establish Naylor three times, only to get a false start on fourth and inches, forcing them to punt. On Worth County's first possession, Brevyn Ross took it 55 yards behind a big hole up the middle opened by Jacob Hardy and Drake Kinsella to score Worth County's first touchdown. Albany came up short on fourth down when four different Tigers met Maverick Hall and they got the ball back on downs. On their first play from scrimmage, Ben Badell aired out a long pass to Chris Alarcon, who juked a defender at the 20 and was gone for Worth County's second score in two plays. That left them up 12-0.
Worth County moved Issac Alarcon to pass coverage and Issac played a Warrior receiver perfectly, only to tip the ball right into his hands for a long gain. That set up Albany's lone score to cut Worth County's lead to 12-6. But Worth County bounced right back as they overcame a holding penalty. Brevyn Ross got loose on a sweep down the left side, Issac Alarcon threw a perfect block to knock down a defender, and Ross was off to the races for his second long score to put Worth County back in control at 18-6.
Albany ran out of plays, but Worth County still had some left; Ross got loose for 17 on an option play on their next series and Issac Alarcon got nine on a quick hitter. Nate Pointer and Ben Badell got some turns carrying the ball as well. Finally, Ross got loose again and Issac once again sprung him free for a 17 yard score to make it 24-6. Issac added a breakaway score of his own from 53 yards out, treating the Warrior defenders like they were not even there to make it 30-6.
After Stanberry beat Albany 18-0, Worth County and Stanberry took the field for the final game. In JV action, Nate Pointer got loose for carries of 10 and 20 yards to put the Tigers in good position at the 24, but they were backed up by a holding penalty and couldn't score. Mason Hawk recovered a Stanberry fumble to put them in good position again at midfield, but Stanberry's defense held.
During this scrimmage, it was the defense that stood out for Worth County. Dalton Auffert showed that he is the real deal at the end position, getting a sack on one play when he fought off a block to get into the quarterback's face; he had another tackle for loss and knew exactly where he was supposed to be at the end position. Several times, Drake Kinsella led a whole host of Tiger tacklers to stop Bulldog backs for losses. There was one heartstopping moment when someone forgot to cover one of Stanberry's receivers, who would have caught a long pass for a score. But it didn't matter, as Nate Pointer led a host of three tacklers to sack the Stanberry quarterback before he could even get the play off. Another time, Brevyn Ross, who was moved to linebacker from cornerback, got into the backfield and forced a fumble.
At the very end, Worth County had one play left, and Ben Badell aired it out to Brevyn Ross, who caught it for 35 yards down to the Stanberry 5. He was tackled right away, but Worth County showed that they could play with one of the top two teams in the state. Dalton Auffert sent a final message as one of Stanberry's backs came up limping after he rung his bell on the final play of the night.
Worth County, if they can stay healthy and stay eligible, showed that they were one of the teams to beat this year along with Stanberry and North Andrew. "Everyone who came out this year has been working hard," said Coach Chris Healy.
The Tigers play Rock Port Friday at 7 at Worth County. The Blue Jays have lost their line that fueled their successful teams from the past three years. But they still have some of their horses left. They come in with a power running game on offense and hard tackling on defense, making them a difficult matchup for anyone.
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