Lexington defense stifles White Knoll, earns home playoff game
Lexington might not have the marquee players it has had in previous years, but it definitely has a strong defense.
The Wildcats rode that defense in defeating White Knoll, 13-0, on Friday in the regular-season finale for both teams. With the win, Lexington earns the No. 3 seed from Region 5-5A and will host Carolina Forest in a first-round playoff game next week.
“We are kind of a no-name team. All year you can’t say there is one player we’ve ridden their back,” Lexington coach Perry Woolbright said. “We’ve got a team full of guys that believe in each other, and our defense really sets the tone for us and allowed us to be in this game in the end.”
White Knoll earns the No. 5 spot from region and opens the playoffs on the road.
The Wildcats held White Knoll to 115 yards of offense and came up with a big goal-line stand in the fourth quarter. Lexington’s Parker Van Coutren fumbled a punt, and the Wolves recovered at the 6-yard line.
But the Wildcats’ Othello Sutton stopped WK quarterback Aveon Smith on fourth-and goal to preserve the lead.
The Timberwolves also had a touchdown called back in the third quarter.
Van Coutren capped Lexington’s scoring with a 4-yard run with 1:06 left.
Mitchell McGee put Lexington up 6-0 on a 2-yard run with 47 seconds left in third quarter. Jordan Hiller led the Wildcats with 142 yards rushing.
KEY NUMBERS
1: Number of third-down conversions by White Knoll on 12 attempts.
2.1: Average yards per play by White Knoll
THEY SAID IT
“We find a way to get it done. We scratch and claw. That’s what we asked them from day one, play with effort and intensity and that is what they did to put them in position to have them a home playoff game.”– Woolbright
“We were so bad on offense tonight. Lexington is good on defense, and we knew it would be a struggle. Our defense has played their tails off the last few weeks and the coaches have had a great plan. We’ve got to get better on offense if we want to have a chance to continue to play football. ” – White Knoll coach Dean Howell
HOW THEY SCORED
3rd Quarter
LEX – Mcgee 2 run (kick failed), 0:47
4th Quarter
LEX – Van Coutren 4 run (Waller kick), 1:06
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing: L: Hiller 26-142; Nicholas 8-21; VanCoutren 3-14; McGee 4-9. WK: Hope 7-32; Smith 14-16; Summers 5-8; Clary 4-5.
Passing: L: Ch. Crouch 9-24-2 100. WK: Smith 10-26-1 54
Receiving: L: McGee 3-36; W. Crouch 3-21; Daniel 2-26; Hiller 1-17. WK: Clary 5-28; Lindsay 3-9; Summers 1-12; Myers 1-5
This story was originally published October 27, 2017 at 10:50 PM.