Local Sports

Waterford beats Belpre, rides 5-game win streak into postseason

WATERFORD - The Waterford Wildcats continued their second half dominance Friday night with a 65-6 win over the visiting Belpre Golden Eagles.

The Wildcats celebrated their 12 seniors prior to the game and then jumped all over the Eagles to win their fifth consecutive game as they prepare for the postseason next week.

Waterford scored 30 points in the first quarter and 28 more in the second as they finished the regular season with an outstanding 8-2 record.

Since losing back to back games to highly ranked Fort Frye and Nelsonville York in weeks four and five, the Wildcats won their final five games by a combined margin of 294-6.

"It took a little while to get rolling but we had a veteran group and we played a brutal first-half schedule but since the Eastern game we have been clicking," said Wildcat head coach Eric McCutcheon. "Our kids kept grinding and getting better and we knew we were a solid football team."

The Golden Eagles are much improved this season as their four wins would indicate but it was quite obvious early on that they would be no match for the Wildcats.

A huge return on the opening kickoff by sophomore Devin Pottmeyer gave the Wildcats great field position at the Belpre 22-yard line and four plays later senior quarterback Avery Pottmeyer connected with fellow senior Gavin Hiener on a 6-yard touchdown pass for the games first score.

Belpre's first drive of the game stalled and they were forced to punt the ball back to the Wildcats.

Waterford took over possession at their own 25-yard line and six plays later they were in the end zone once again when Avery Pottmeyer fired a nine-yard touchdown pass to senior Brayden Smith.

Belpre made a huge mistake on the ensuing kick-off as they let the ball get past the returner and by the time he picked the ball up a swarm of Wildcats tackled him at the one-yard line.

On the first play from scrimmage Belpre running back Alex Parker was unable to get out of the end zone as Wildcat defenders Maddux Antill and Isaac McDougal brought him down for a safety to increase the Wildcat lead to 16-0.

The Wildcats were able to get great field position once again after the free kick and they took just five plays to march 48 yards with senior Hayden Jones scoring on a four-yard touchdown run to increase their lead to 23 with just under two minutes to play in the first quarter.

The Eagles made another miscue on their next possession when they fumbled the ball on the first play with Wildcat senior Dylan McCutcheon recovering to give them the ball right back at the Belpre 34-yard line.

Avery Pottmeyer's 33-yard quarterback keeper set the stage for Jones’ second touchdown in less than a minute and increased the Wildcat lead to 30-0.

Belpre was unable to do anything with the ball on their next possession and they punted it back to the Wildcats.

The 'Cats took over possession of the ball at their own 32-yard line and five plays later Jones found the end zone for the third time in the game to increase the lead to 37-0 with 10 minutes to play in the first half.

The Wildcat defense had come into the game with a streak of four games and 17 quarters without their opponent scoring a single point against them.

That streak came to an end early in the second quarter when Parker took a hand-off from quarterback Mason Baxter and got loose around the end where he outran the Wildcat defenders for a 73-yard touchdown run.

"That was definitely one of our goals and we really wanted that shutout tonight," said McCutcheon. "It kind of woke our guys up and showed them it can happen if you take a play off."

It would take the Wildcats all of six plays to answer and once again it would be Jones finishing it off this time with a 32-yard run.

Earlier in the drive Jones went over the 1,000 yard mark in rushing yards for the third time in his storied Wildcat career.

"The offensive line is doing a great job and Hayden is running better than he ever has and having another great season for us," said McCutcheon. 'He has meant so much to this program the past few years and he's really close to breaking the all-time rushing record so hopefully he can do that in the next game or two."

Jones wasn't the only Wildcat player to make history as Avery Pottmeyer became the all-time leader in passing touchdowns in a season.

The Wildcat quarterback scored on a 3-yard run midway through the second quarter and then tossed his third touchdown of the game, a 28-yarder to Devin Pottmeyer.

Waterford scored every time they had the ball in the game except when they took over possession late in the opening half and allowed the clock to run out.

The Wildcats piled up 477 total yards in the game including 312 on the ground.

Jones had yet another special game in a career of many of them in his final regular season game in front of the home crowd. The All-Ohio running back ran for 202 yards and the four TD's on just 18 carries.

Avery Pottmeyer completed all but one of his 10 passing attempts for 165 yards and added his second rushing touchdown in the game in the fourth quarter for the game’s final score.

Parker led the way for the Golden Eagles with 102 yards on 16 carries.

While the Eagles season comes to an end with a 4-6 mark, the Wildcats will now get ready for postseason play beginning at home next week against an opponent to be determined.

The Wildcats finished the regular season 8-2 and allowed a grand total of 52 points the entire season.

McCutcheon feels like his team has been excelling in all three facets of the game noting that place kicker Cale Harris was perfect on all nine PATs he attempted in the game.

"We are excited and we have been building for this for a while," said McCutcheon. "We have got a veteran group with these great seniors and we have something to prove. We are really hitting on all cylinders now so we are excited to see where this goes."

Waterford 65, Belpre 6

BHS (4-6) 0 6 0 0 - 6

WHS (8-2) 30 28 0 7- 65

W: Gavin Hiener 6 pass from Avery Pottmeyer (Cale Harris kick) 10:14, 1st

W: Brayden Smith 9 pass from A. Pottmeyer (Harris kick) 4:06, 1st

W: Safety: Tackled runner in end zone 3:52, 1st

W: Hayden Jones 4 run (Harris kick) 1:51, 1st

W: Jones 1 run (Harris kick) 1:10, 1st

W: Jones 7 run (Harris kick) 10:27, 2nd

B: Alex Parker 73 run (Pass failed) 10:03, 2nd

W: Jones 32 run (Harris kick) 8:02, 2nd

W: A. Pottmeyer 3 run (Harris kick) 5:01, 2nd

W: Devin Pottmeyer 28 pass from Avery Pottmeyer (Harris kick) 3:11, 2nd

W: A. Pottmeyer 6 run (Harris kick) 9:15, 4th

Team stats

Belpre: First downs: 8, Rushes-yards: 26-114, Passing yards: 77, Total yards: 191, Passing: 7-19-0, Punt-avg: 3-32.3, Penalties-yards: 2-10, Fumbles-lost: 1-1.

Waterford: First downs: 20, Rushes-yards: 30-312, Passing yards: 165, Total yards: 477, Passing: 9-10-0, Punts-avg: None, Penalties-yards: 4-45, Fumbles-lost: 0-0.

Individual stats

Belpre: Rushing: Alex Parker 16-102, Jayden Francis 1-6, Maverick McCartney 2-6, Carson Woodford: 4-6, Kade Hutchinson 1-3, Passing: Mason Baxter: 7-19-0 77 yards, Woodford 0-1-0, Receiving: Malik Currie 1-34, AJ Copen 1-22, Jayden Gibbs 3-17, Blake Binegar 1-3.

Waterford: Rushing: Hayden Jones 18-202 (4TD's), Avery Pottmeyer 6-56 (2 TD's), Kam Johnson 3-38, Trace Harmon 1-11, Ryder Wolfe 1-5, Mason Dildine 1-0. Passing: A. Pottmeyer: 9-10-0, 165yds, 3TD's, Receiving: Brayden Smith 4-86, Gavin Hiener 3-44, Devin Pottmeyer 1-28, Finn Pennock 1-7.

Next game: Waterford awaits playoff matchup