Woodstown gets fourth-down stop at the 5 in final minute to preserve 21-14 win over Clayton in final game of a tough season
WJFL MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
Woodstown 21, Clayton 14
Wildwood 22, Haddon Twp. 8
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
CLAYTON — Aiden Taulane and Liam Reed were determined not to lose the final game of their high school careers. The two linemen did everything in their power to make sure they won the last game of a tough senior season Monday night and at the crucial moment they delivered in a game-saving way.
The moment of truth came in the final minute of their final game. Taulane batted down a fourth-down pass from the 5 and Reed crushed the unfortunate lineman who caught the deflection to preserve Woodstown’s 21-14 win over Clayton at Haupt Field.
“I saw the quarterback pick his arm up and I jumped,” Taulane said. “It wasn’t very high, but I tried to jump and I ended up hitting it and then the emotions just flipped and it was straight excitement. I gave it everything to make sure we could all have one last win.”
“We all knew this was it,” Reed said. “It’s been a long four years … Adversity kept coming this season. This was kind of our chance to prove that we could overcome adversity. We just came together. We just made sure we could lock you down.”
Reed was in on another big stop in the third quarter when he and Mason Middlemiss sandwiched Clayton running back Willie Weathers short of the goal line to deny a two-point conversion that would have given the Clippers the lead. Instead, the stop kept the game tied at 14.
The Wolverines (3-7) had one chance to go out on a good note after a season beset with injuries left them out of the playoffs for the first time in 15 years. They went out fast, scoring on two of their first three possessions to take a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter.
Cole Ware scored the first touchdown on a 43-yard burst up the middle and Middlemiss scored the second on a 24-yard run in the first minute of the second quarter. Ware rushed for 79 yards on 10 carries and Middlemiss rushed for 88 yards on 13 carries.
The Clippers (4-5) started getting Michael Ball involved in the offense in the second quarter and they answered Middlemiss’ touchdown with a 65-yard drive that ate up five and a half minutes. Quaddy Walls’ 7-yard run and quarterback Gabriel Hill’s two-point conversion got them on the board.
Woodstown had a chance to extend its lead right before halftime, but missed a 33-yard field goal attempt in the final minute of the half.
Clayton opened the second half with a 66-yard scoring drive that consumed nearly eight minutes with Weathers scoring on a 12-yard run to tie the game.
Middlemiss put the Wolverines up 21-14 on a 4-yard run with 9:02 left in the game. Clayton held it virtually the rest of the game.
The Clippers kept the ball from the time Middlemiss scored to 48 seconds left when the Wolverines forced Hill to his right on fourth down, Taulane batted the pass and Reed crushed Roderick Harper after the Clayton lineman came down with the rebound.
“He was not getting that ball,” Reed said. “He was not scoring.”
“We just knew if we didn’t give everything we had they were going to get in,” Taulane said. “So, we left it all on the field.”
The drive covered 75 yards in 16 plays and was nearly flawless until the end.
The Clippers converted three third-down plays to keep the chains moving, including a 17-yard run by Deron Williams to get the ball inside the 10. The next two plays got them to the 5. They took a shot on third down, but Middlemiss and Bryceton Rooney broke up a pass intended for Michael Bull just inside the goal line. Taulane and Reed then sealed the victory on the next play.
“It just shows the resilience and toughness of this group,” Wolverines coach Frank Trautz said. “It’s the bones of this program. They were going to do whatever it took to get that stop and sometimes that’s all it comes down to, just the will to compete and the will to win.
“They gave it everything they had all year. That was the message all week – win it for the seniors. Give them what they deserved. We didn’t have the season we wanted to but these guys have worked their tails off for this program. They worked so hard and they deserve this and I’m just super proud they got to go out their last high school game with a win.”
Woodstown 21, Clayton 14
| WOOD | CLAY | |
| 9 | 1st Downs | 12 |
| 26-204 | Rushing | 48-232 |
| 0-3-0 | Passing | 2-4-0 |
| 0 | Passing yds | (-3) |
| 2-2 | Fumbles-lost | 1-0 |
| 0-0 | Punts-avg | 0-0 |
| 4-30 | Penalties | 4-40 |
| Woodstown | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7- | 21 |
| Clayton | 0 | 8 | 6 | 0- | 14 |
SCORING SUMMARY
W-Cole Ware 43 run (Anthony Costello kick), 6:46 1Q
W-Mason Middlemiss 24 run (Anthony Costello kick), 11:01 2Q
C-Quaddy Walls 7 run (Gabriel Hill run), 4:35 2Q
C-Willie Weathers 12 run (run failed), 4:05 3Q
W-Mason Middlemiss 4 run (Anthony Costello kick), 9:02 4Q
Riverview Sports News 