The Randolph Leader: Sports

VALLEY HEAD - The Wadley Bulldogs posted their fifth straight win and second consecutive shutout as they topped Valley Head 35-0 in their regular season finale.

Terrance Wilkes gave his chances at breaking the state rushing-yards record another shot in the arm with his third consecutive 200-plus yard game. He finished with 217 yards on 25 carries, including three second-half touchdowns that helped put the game out of reach.

But perhaps the most remarkable play of the night was the four yards that he got on a fake Wadley punt - from their own 18-yard line.

With game scoreless in the first quarter, Wadley was forced to punt on 4th-and-2 from their own 18. The punt return was fumbled and scooped up by Wadley and returned for a touchdown. But an inadvertant whistle nullified the play, leaving Wadley and coach Randy Sparks a little out of sorts.

"I was aggravated because of that (previous play)," said Sparks. "And Terrance was aggravated, and he came to the sideline and he said 'Coach, just snap it to me. I'll get the two yards.' And I said, 'Alright. Let's do it.' I doubt I'll ever do it again.

"Terrance is the personal protector on punts, and I just told my snapper, Justin Estes, 'You just snap it to Terrance, and Terrance, you just run,'" he continued. "We didn't even tell the linemen."

Wilkes picked up four yards and a first down on the play, which sparked the Bulldogs to their first touchdown of the night. That came on a 45-yard touchdown pass from Dalton Jones to Martevan McKissic on the first play of the second quarter.

Wilkes now has 9,287 career rushing yards, 553 short of breaking the state record held by Alexandria's Mac Campbell. With a good chance at playing at least two more games, the record is not as far out of reach as it may have seemed just a few weeks ago.

Wadley got another touchdown pass from Jones later in the quarter, this time a 16-yard strike to senior Deshun Battle, to give the Bulldogs a 13-0 lead at halftime.

Wilkes set the tone for the second half on the Bulldogs' first play from scrimmage. He broke free for a 59-yard touchdown run, then iced the cake by running in the 2-point conversion to stake his team to a 21-0 lead. With the Wadley defense locked in and pitching a shutout, the play was the backbreaker the Bulldogs needed.

"When you look at the score and you look at the stats you think, man, this thing must have been one-sided," said Sparks. "But it really wasn't. It was a real struggle. They were real big, real physical. Then when Terrance ran the touchdown on the first play of the second half, it was just over. I mean, they just, it looked like they just gave up. But it was a pretty tough ballgame."

Wilkes added scores of 3 and 11 yards later in the half to provide the final margin of victory.

Wadley got another boost from senior Zack McGill. McGill had missed the previous two games and was hampered by nagging injuries throughout the season, but he carried the football ten times for 82 yards and had one touchdown called back because of a penalty.

"Friday night was the first time that I felt that he was healthy enough to hand him the football," said Sparks of McGill. "It helps to have somebody that you can put in there that's got some experience."

Wadley finishes the regular season at 8-2 and ranked at number 10 in the state for class 1A. They will host Pleasant Home in the first round of the playoffs on Friday night.