Putting cows on the front page since 1885.
Putting cows on the front page since 1885.
Williamsburg's Caymen Hughes (25) tries to get outside of Homer Center's Michael Krejocic in first-quarter action on Friday, Oct. 30.
Williamsburg's Tyler Clark is tackled by Homer Center's Drew Kochman (14) and Travis Mock (30) in second-quarter action Oct. 30 at Homer City.
A 28-point deficit to one-beaten Homer-Center in a District 6 Class 1A quarterfinal game Oct. 30 proved to be too much for Williamsburg.
The Blue Pirates rallied behind a 24-7 run only to fall short, 35-24, at H-C's home turf.
Homer-Center, seeded second, improved to 6-1, while Williamsburg, seeded seventh, dropped to 4-4.
Quarterback Ben Schmidt accounted for all four H-C's touchdowns in the first half. He threw touchdown passes of 25, 60 and 89 yards while running for a 7-yard score.
WHS senior Jahmarea Wansley scored on a 4-yard run and senior Tyler Clark added the PAT to make it 28-7 at halftime.
Schmidt tossed his fourth touchdown pass with 2:31 remaining in the third quarter.
WHS junior Lambert Palmer scored on runs of 1 and 24 to bring his team closer. Senior Dallas Price was on the receiving end of Palmer 's pass on WHS's first 2-point conversion attempt. Palmer capped the scoring with a 24-yard run with 9:15 remaining.
Palmer completed 11 of 21 pass attempts for 177 yards and one interception. Junior Caymen Hughes had four catches for 110 yards. Palmer ran nine times for 47 yards. Clark added 31 rushing yards on nine carries.
Schmidt was 9-for-23 passing for 233 yards and one interception. He also carried the ball 22 times for 177 yards. Drew Kochman had three receptions for 127 yards. Junior Collin Troup ran for 116 yards on 19 carries.
"They made some plays early, and we fell behind in the game," WHS coach Ryan Hileman said. "However, we were able to battle back and put ourselves in a position to possibly win the game late. This group has always battled and kept their heads up throughout the season.
"Going in to the half down three scores, it would have been easy to say it's over, but this group came out and made a game of it."
Despite the loss, Hileman said he is proud of how the Blue Pirates have fought through adversity all season, and they were able to win their first playoff game in 31 years.
"Years down the road, these boys will remember being a part of that," Hileman said.
This Friday, Nov. 6, Williamsburg will travel to Mount Union (3-1).
"Coach Turner will have his team prepared," Hileman said. "They are 3-1 and were unable to participate in playoffs due to COVID-19, so I know that they will be up for this game.
"We are looking to end our season on a high note. Whether this week is the last game or not, we want to send these seniors out with a victory."
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