Worth County needed less than one hour to topple Albany 50-0 in a halftime game Friday as the defending state champions had little trouble getting to 4-0 for the year. Albany looked like it was going somewhere after a resounding victory over Veritas Christian followed by going the distance against Stanberry. But they came down to earth hard against Mound City last week, falling 58-6 at halftime and now had to go up against Worth County.
The Warriors had some weapons at their disposal as they had two 250-pound linemen in Beckett Phillips and Logan Combs, a hard-running fullback in Dawson Butterfield, and a speedy halfback in Tryce Floyd. They were able to move the ball on Worth County, getting into Tiger territory routinely. But then Worth County would stop them and hit them with a big play to score and drive Albany deeper and deeper in to the hole. None of Worth County’s drives lasted more than two plays. It didn’t matter that one of their offensive linemen, Austin Welch, was out for the game (pulled muscle). Worth County simply inserted Isaac Alarcon on the line and kept right on clicking offensively.
Albany tried to establish Butterfield on its first series, but stalled after he dropped a pass in the flat and was forced to punt. Worth County started in good field position at the Albany 35 and only needed one play to score as Jacob New aired it out to Bryant McCord with 10:21 left. Caleb Parman ran it up the middle to make it 8-0.
Albany set up shop at their own 20 and got a promising drive doing as Floyd picked up five, then Butterfield picked up two carries for six yards to the 31. Then, Floyd ripped off 22 yards into Tiger territory at the 27, breaking some tackles along the way. But then an incomplete pass and a fumble, pounced on by Colton Wilmes, gave the ball back to the Tigers at their own 30. Once again, Worth County only needed one play to score as Colton Wilmes opened a big hole up and Caleb Parman shot through for a 50 yard score to make it 14-0 with 8:04 left.
The Warriors picked up a first down on their next series as Kaeden Hutchinson caught a six yard pass from Harrison Kerchner for six to the Warrior 32. But a bad snap drove them back and they were forced to punt, as Worth County took over on their own 28. Once again, they only needed one play to score as Caleb Parman shot up the middle and bounced it to the outside and down the left sideline to score with 4:07 left to make it 20-0. Three plays, three scores for the Tigers.
Albany got their most promising drive going on their next series. A quick hitter from Floyd netted nine yards, and Butterfield got a first down to the 35. Beckett Phillips, a lineman, caught a carom and rumbled forward for four yards on third and 10 to the 39; that is a legal play for a lineman to advance a pass after a carom. Albany elected to go for it and aired it out to Floyd, who got behind the Tiger defense for 16 yards to the 25. The Warriors rode Butterfield’s back to the 15, where they got another first down. But then disaster struck as another bad snap set them back to the 20. On fourth and 11 at the Tiger 16, Albany tried to spring Floyd loose on the quick hitter again, but Jaxon Anderson and Reed McIntyre stopped him for one yard at the 15 and Worth County took over on downs. Once again, they needed only one play to score as Caleb Parman broke a host of tackles and sprung loose again, this time for a 65 yard score with 10:23 left to make it 26-0. Four plays, four scores for Worth County.
The Warriors got eight yards on two plays up to the 35, but on third and two, a quick count and handoff to Mercer fooled nobody and Tryce Floyd was stopped cold on fourth and two, giving Worth County the ball back on downs. Quarterback Jacob New was sacked, ending Worth County’s bid to score a touchdown on every single offensive play and the Tigers were set back to their own 30. But that only set them back for one play as New threw a short pass to Bryant McCord, who weaved his way around a defender and then bounced his way outside for a 50 yard score with 7:42 left in the half. Bryant made a shoestring catch to make it 34-0.
Butterfield found daylight after a quick hitter and picked up 14 yards to the Warrior 37, nearly breaking one. But then Isaac Alarcon came on a heavy rush, batted a pass up in the air, and nearly got his third pick six of the year. Butterfield met Colton Wilmes and then Albany fumbled it and was forced to punt, giving Worth County the ball on its own 26. A carry by Andrew Alarcon went nowhere, but then Caleb Parman took the shotgun snap and handed it off to Bryant McCord on a jet sweep down the right side; he put on a burst of speed and outran everyone for a score with 4:45 left. Caleb Parman ran in the extra points to make it 42-0. At that point, Worth County had run eight plays and scored six times.
Tryce Floyd got a good runback of the ensuing kickoff to the Tiger 34 before he was caught from behind, but Albany could only get two yards before a sack by Caleb Parman set up fourth and 10. Albany aired it out, but just too far and the Tigers got the ball back on downs at their own 34. This time, they faked the jet sweep to McCord and gave it to Andrew Alarcon on a counter. This time, he would not be denied. He shot through a hole vacated by the green shirts thinking Bryant had the ball and was gone, scoring from 46 yards out. Caleb Parman ran in the extra points on an option play to make it 50-0 with 2:14 left, and Albany had seen enough, electing to run out the rest of the clock.
Worth County had run nine plays from scrimmage and scored on seven of them, picking up 338 yards in the process. That was an average of 37.5 yards per play. But now, the schedule will get tougher as King City will be seeking to regroup after losses to Stanberry and Pattonsburg, trying to avoid a three-game losing streak. Pattonsburg will be next, followed by a trip to St. Joseph Christian, always a difficult venue for the Tigers to play in.
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