Western Class C quarterfinal
No. 6 Poland (3-5)
at No. 2 Wells (6-2)
7 p.m. at
Warrior Memorial Field
Despite a solid 6-2 record, the regular season can be looked at as a missed opportunity for Wells, a team that, as usual, entered this fall with very high expectations.
The Warriors’ only two defeats of the season have come in games they easily could have won. Wells gained more than 400 yards of offense but blew several scoring opportunities in a 27-6 defeat to Spruce Mountain on Sept. 12. Then, on Oct. 17, the Warriors opened up a 19-0 lead with five minutes left in the first half, only to give up a late touchdown before the break and 19 more points in the second half in a 26-19 defeat.
Those two losses to the two teams now ranked above them have left Wells in the third seed entering the Western Class C playoffs, likely facing two trips up north ”“ and two rematches against Leavitt and Spruce ”“ if it’s to make its second state championship game appearance in the past four seasons.
But that’s all in the future. At the present, the Warriors have Poland to work about.
It’s a game that shouldn’t be much of a problem for Wells, who beat up on Poland 54-20 when the teams met on Oct. 10.
The Knights actually led 6-0 in that one thanks to a long return on the opening kickoff before the Warriors Chris Carney took the game over, running in a 35-yard interception return for a touchdown before scoring on runs of 1, 5, 2 and 9 yards to give Wells a commanding lead.
Carney’s contributions have been immense for Wells since the first time he touched the ball this season, an 82-yard return for a score on the opening kickoff against Mountain Valley. The senior running back has scored 24 touchdowns in all and has come up huge in several of the Warriors biggest games: 196 yards and five total TD’s against Cape, 178 yards and a score against Yarmouth and151 yards and two touchdowns against Leavitt.
But it’s been far from a one-man band for an offense averaging 37 points a game. Fullback Michael Curtis has developed into a solid option up the middle, running for 145 yards against Yarmouth, 119 against Cape and 104 against Leavitt, while quarterback Nate Booth has been efficient throwing the ball through the air, primarily to tight end Ryan Marsh.
Poland, meanwhile, is just 1-5 against fellow playoff teams and will be looking to keep the game close at Warrior Memorial Field, where Wells has lost just three times in 25 games over the past five seasons.
— Staff Writer Cameron Dunbar can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 323 or cdunbar@journaltribune.com.
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