WILLIAMSBURG — Earlier in the week, Williamsburg coach Jerry Herron emphasized the importance of his team getting off to a strong start, and Williamsburg delivered on that front.
The Yellow Jackets (6-4) scored 38 points in the second quarter to pull away from Hazard while recording a 60-12 victory during the process.
”We just had a great week of practice,” Herron said. “Things were clicking and we were able to carry it into the game tonight. I thought our kids were ready and they played well.”
“Hazard is a solid team — look who they have played,” he added. “They’ve played really good teams. We were able to come out and play the way we needed to play tonight to get the win.
Williamsburg will now go on the road Friday in second round action of the Class A playoffs and face Pikeville, who defeated Harlan, 49-6.
“It’s another tough game,” Herron said. “They’ve won a lot of state titles, and we know we’ve got our work cut out for us. Nobody will be giving us a chance, but we are going up there with nothing to lose. We are going to go up there and get after it. To be the man, you’ve got to beat the man.”
Nate Goodin scored on a 42-yard touchdown run on the Yellow Jackets’ first offensive series, and it was off and running for the Yellow Jackets, who held a 6-0 lead at the 10:47 mark of the first quarter.
Hunter Thomas’ one-yard touchdown run combined with Goodin’s two-point conversion pushed Williamsburg’s lead to 14-0 with 5:19left in the first quarter.
Goodin continued Williamsburg’s dominance in the second quarter, scoring on a 27-yard run 13 seconds into the period, pushing his team’s advantage to 20-0.
Hazard cut its deficit to 20-6 as Max Pelfrey connected with a 16-yard touchdown pass to Jayvon White with 8:57 remaining in the first half.
And that’s when the Yellow Jackets put the game away.
Williamsburg scored 38 points to close out the first half to take a commanding, 52-12, advantage into the locker room at halftime.
Janon O’Donnell recovered an onside kick and found paydirt to give the Yellow Jackets a 28-6 advantage.
Goodin broke loose for a 24-yard touchdown run to make the score, 36-6, while Hazard scored again to cut its deficit to 36-12 with 2:31left in the first half. A 51-yard touchdown run by Goodin, and Zyker Housekeeper’s pick-six pushed Williamsburg’s lead to 40 points at halftime.
