Local Sports

Hayden Jones’ late TD lifts Waterford past Caldwell, 15-8

CALDWELL - A 1-yard touchdown run by Hayden Jones with just over 16 seconds remaining in the game broke an 8-8 tie and gave the Waterford Wildcats an 15-8 win over the Caldwell Redskins Friday night in a thriller at the Tribe Athletic Complex in Caldwell.

On a night where the Wildcats consistently shot themselves in the foot offensively they put together an impressive, game-winning 84-yard 15-play drive that chewed up the final six minutes of the game before Jones touchdown plunge gave them the lead.

"That first half we just couldn't do anything right…we couldn't snap the ball we were getting penalties and we were just doing everything wrong,"said Waterford head coach Eric McCutcheon. "We regrouped in the second half and our kids stuck together and if we stick together and we fight for each other we can do special things and that'swhat they did that on that last drive."

The Wildcats defense was spectacular all game long but after scoring a touchdown on the their second possession of the game the offense struggled until the final drive.

Waterford missed a golden opportunity to score on their very first possession as after Kameron Johnson returned the opening kick 77 yards to give them possession deep in Caldwell territory they fumbled the football with Caldwell's Charles Gessell recovering at their own 18-yard line.

The Redskins went three-and-out and punted the ball back to Waterford who got a 22-yard punt return by Jones to take over possession at the Caldwell 44-yard line.

This time the Wildcats would cash in as quarterback Avery Pottmeyer connected with Jones on an 11-yard touchdown pass with just under four minutes to play in the opening quarter.

The Wildcats botched the snap on the extra point leaving them with a 6-0 lead.

Caldwell would not gain a single first down in the opening period and would not score in the second as the Waterford defense opened the season with six consecutive scoreless quarters.

The Wildcat defense would provide them with some points as well as after their drive stalled deep in Caldwell territory the Redskins took over possession on their own three-yard line and were unable to get the ball out of the end zone as a bull-rush by the white and green defensive line resulted in a safety to extend the lead to 8-0.

"Our defense brings it every night and we are going to be in every ball game because of that," said McCutcheon. "I thought our line played great on both sides of the ball for 48 minutes and we were able to win the trenches tonight."

Caldwell got the ball first to begin the second half and quickly went three-and-out and punted the ball back to Waterford.

The next drive would prove to be disastrous for Waterford as a bad snap moved the ball all the way back to the one-yard line and a pair of penalties kept them from moving the ball out of harms way.

To make matters worse they punted the ball just 20 yards giving Caldwell their best field position of the game at the Waterford 30-yard line.

The Redskins came up with their biggest offensive play of the game when freshman quarterback Blayz Abbott connected with KK Moore on a 21-yard touchdown pass to pull them to within two.

Caldwell elected to go for two and their freshman came thru again when he connected with Izic Cool on the two-point conversion to knot the score at 8-8.

The defenses from both teams would rise to the occasion for the rest of the third quarter and most of the fourth.

Caldwell got key sacks from their stout defensive lineman Gessell, Blake Williams and Dalton Egnot at the most opportune times to keep the Wildcats in check.

"Those are our core guys that are pretty tough and we are really going to bank on them this year," said Caldwell head coach Chance Rucker of his defensive line. "They really held up their end tonight and we just have to make sure we have some help behind them."

The two would continue to exchange punts before the Waterford offense finally came to life when they took over possession at the Caldwell 16-yard line with just under six minutes to play in the game.

A third down run and later a fourth down run to move the chains

by Johnson kept the drive alive as the Wildcats moved the ball into Caldwell territory.

With just 33 seconds remaining on the clock Jones rambled nine-yards to move the ball to the 21-yard line and on the next play he nearly got into the end zone on a 20-yard run before being stopped just inches short of the goal line.

The very next play Jones forced his way into the end zone bringing the large contingent of Waterford fans who made the trek up I-77 to their feet.

Caldwell had time to try one more Hail Mary pass but Abbott's long heave was picked off by Avery Pottmeyer to end the game.

The Waterford defense allowed Caldwell to pick up just four first downs in the game while also limiting them to a puny 74 yards of total offense.

Jones quietly ended up with 142 yards rushing on 26 carries and definitely saved his best for last.

"Hayden is a special player and he showed that again tonight," said McCutcheon. "Our line just kept pounding and pounding and pounding and finally he was able to break some big runs when we needed them the most."

Although it is just the second week, beating Caldwell was something his team had focused on and wanted to take care of.

"Caldwell is a very good football team and they in our region as well," said McCutcheon. "We have definitely got some things we need to clean up to get ready for Shenandoah next week but this is a big win for us."

The Wildcats improve to 2-0 on the season while Caldwell slips to 1-1.

Rucker feels like these two teams could potentially see each other again somewhere down the road.

"They are a great football team and in our region and hopefully both of us are competing in weeks 11, 12 and so on,"said Rucker. "It's great to fight hard like we did tonight but in some facet we've got to find a way to win these kind of games."

Caldwell remains home next week to host Tuslaw while the Wildcats will play Shenandoah in their home opener.

Waterford 15, Caldwell 8

WHS (2-0) 6 2 0 7 - 15

CHS (1-1) 0 0 8 0 - 8

W: Hayden Jones 11 pass from Avery Pottmeyer (kick failed) 3:55, 2nd

W: Safety, Tackle in End Zone 8:05, 2nd

C: KK Moore 21 pass from Blayz Abbott (Izik Cool pass from Abbott) 7:09, 3rd

W: Jones 1 run (Cale Harris kick) 16.8 4th

Team Stats

Waterford: First downs: 15, Rushes-yards: 51-193, Passing yards: 112, Total yards: 305, Passing: 11-17-0, Fumbles-lost: 4-1, Penalties-yards: 10-91, Punts-avg: 5-41.

Caldwell: First downs: 4, Rushes-yards: 12-16, Passing yards: 58, Total yards: 74, Passing: 11-22-1, Fumbles-lost: 1-0, Penalties-yards: 4-20, Punts-avg.: 6-40.7.

Individual Stats

Waterford: Rushing: Hayden Jones 26-142, Devin Pottmeyer 4-44, Kameron Johnson 6-27, Ryder Wolfe 2-5, Passing: Avery Pottmeyer: 11-17-0, 112yds, TD, Receiving: Johnson 5-23, Gavin Heiner 2-37, Brayden Smith 2-20, Jones 2-18.

Caldwell: Rushing: Blayz Abbott 11-19, Landon Stephens 1-(-3), Passing: Abbott 11-22-1, 58yds, TD, Receiving: Lucas Baker 4-17, KK Moore 1-21, Izic Cool 3-6, Parker Neff 1-7, Stephens 1-7, Mason Arnold 1-0.

Next Game: Tuslaw at Caldwell, Shenandoah at Waterford.