By Paul Keane
Wayne County News

WAYNESBORO, Miss. — In what started out as a defensive battle — with neither team scoring in the first quarter — Wayne Academy came away with a 76-46 victory over Ben’s Ford on Friday night. The win improved the Jaguars to 2-3 on the year while the Eagles fell to 1-4.
Both squads battled back and forth in the first quarter, with the Jaguars’ defense bending but not breaking. The Eagles started drives at the WA 44 and 22 to start the game, but could not punch the ball into the end zone. The Jaguars’ offense wasn’t much better, never crossing midfield in the first 12 minutes of play. Then came the rest of the game as the two teams combined to score 122 points in 36 minutes of play.
Things got started on the second play of the second quarter when WA’s Zach Hutchison raced 8 yards for a score to make it 6-0 with 11:14 left in the half.
Ashton Hines answered that touchdown by catching a 13-yard pass from Daniel Pittman, with Hines booting the extra point to make it 7-6 with 9:01 left.
Hutchison would then score on a 36-yard run, and Matt Landrum ran in the two-point conversion to give the Jaguars the lead they would not relinquish the rest of the night.
WA had a 14-7 lead with 7:36 left in the half. On the ensuing kickoff, Corey Caldwell returned it 78 yards for a score to trim the deficit down to 14-13 with 7:22 remaining.
Hutchison would then score on runs of 44 and 3 yards, with Landrum running in the conversion both times, and the Jaguars led by a 30-13 margin with 4:25 left before the intermission. Cole Williams scored on a 3-yard run with 2:08 left, and the Hines kick made it a 30-20 contest.
Wayne answered right back, though, marching downfield quickly before Hutchison hit Cody Brewer with a 30-yard touchdown strike to make it 38-20 at the break.
Early in the third quarter, Brayden Doss hauled in a 37-yard pass from Hutchison, and the Landrum conversion made it 46-20 with 11:15 remaining in the period.
Williams then caught a 14-yard pass from Pittman to make it 46-26 with 9:59 left. On the ensuing series, Caldwell returned a punt 85 yards for a score to trim the margin down to 46-32 with 8:28 in the third. Brayden Doss then hauled in a 15-yard touchdown pass from Hutchison, with the quarterback running in the conversion, and then Landrum scored on a 20-yard run and the Jaguars led by a 62-32 margin.
With 2:00 left in the quarter, Dionte Fernandez hauled in a 30-yard pass from Pittman to make it 62-38. In the fourth quarter, Hutchison scored on a 14-yard run before Hines caught a 13-yard pass from Pittman, cutting WA’s lead down to 70-46. The Eagles were driving again when Hutchison picked off a Pittman pass and returned it 75 yards for a score to set the final margin.
For the night, the Eagles rushed for 49 yards and passed for another 341. The Jaguars rushed for 439 yards and passed for 150.