WEST FORK 18, POTTSVILLE 9 Finishing strong: West Fork controls second half to down Pottsville
Posted on Thursday, October 2, 2008
ANTHONY REYES Northwest Arkansas Times West Fork senior quarterback Daniel Holiday lunges for extra yards on a keeper against Pottsville in the second half Friday in West Fork.
WEST FORK - Homecoming proved to be a big night for West Fork on Friday night. The Tigers held off the Pottsville Apaches 18-9 to post their third straight victory of the season.
West Fork (3-1, 1-0 ) started out quick, taking the opening kickoff 75 yards down the field. Daniel Holiday capped the nine-play drive with a 2-yard touchdown run to give the Tigers the early 6-0 lead.
The Tiger defense started out quick as well. Holiday intercepted an Apache pass on the first play from scrimmage, but the drive stalled as West Fork turned the ball over on the 19-yard line.
"The defense was fantastic," West Fork coach Rodney Selph said.
Pottsville (0-3-1, 0-1 ) rallied to tie the score at 6-6 near the end of the first quarter. Quarterback Josh Falls scored from one yard out, capping a nineplay, 83-yard drive for the Apaches.
Both teams traded possessions early in the second quarter but Pottsville was the only team to put points on the board in the second. The Apaches put up a 27-yard field goal at the halfway mark of the quarter to take a 9-6 lead into the locker room.
West Fork came out with a fury in the second half and cranked up the defensive pressure. Pottsville gained 133 yards on the ground in the first half but the Tigers only allowed 43 yards on the ground in the second half.
The Tigers took advantage of an early momentum swing in the third quarter, where they held the Apaches to three and out on the first series. Taylor Genz put West Fork up for good on a 24-yard touchdown reception from Holiday midway through the third quarter.
"At halftime we said we if they got the ball first we wanted to get a stop early and go down and score and that's what we did," Selph said. "That might have been the story of the game because we got some momentum after that and you could see our confidence build on offense, especially with the offensive line."
Holiday set the final score with just 14 seconds to play in the third quarter. He carried the ball on quarterback keepers three straight times on the drive and scored on an 11-yard run to give West Fork an 18-9 lead.
Pottsville got the ball to start the fourth quarter but ran only four plays before turning the ball over on downs. The Apaches got the ball again with 6: 49 remaining and ran 11 plays before being stopped at their own 45.
Holiday had great stats, rushing for 136 yards and two touchdowns, throwing for 96 yards and a touchdown, and intercepting a pass on defense.
The Tigers will be back on the road this week for the third time in five weeks when they travel to Dover.
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