Williamsburg spoils homecoming for McClain

The McClain Tigers suffered a disappointing homecoming loss to Williamsburg Friday night when the Wildcats used a superior running game to defeat McClain, 40-7.

The Wildcats rushed for 259 yards on 42 carries in the contest, led by their talented senior tailback Landon Hittle, who ran for a game-high 103 yards on just five carries before being ejected from the game early in the second half.

“On defense, the counter really hurt us,” McClain head coach Keith Penwell said. “A lot of the time we were there but just didn’t tackle.

“We had Hittle in the backfield two or three times, and he still got loose and one time even ran clear back around the field and scored. He’s a good athlete, don’t get me wrong, we just didn’t tackle very well tonight.”

Turnovers plagued McClain in the opening quarter when Hittle scored a pair of touchdowns.

The first was a 28-yard run by Hittle at the 8:22 mark of the period, and the second was an eight-yard touchdown run that was set up by a McClain interception. The Tigers also lost a fumble in the first quarter.

Williamsburg added another touchdown late in the second quarter on a 2-yard run by Gray Robinson with 5:07 showing on the clock. That touchdown was set up by an impressive 41-yard run by Hittle that made the score 21-0 at the half.

Despite trailing 21-0 at the halftime, the Tiger defense really played better than the score indicated, but those two turnovers proved to be very costly and big momentum swings.

“I thought we did move the football but just didn’t finish, and when we did get close, we just couldn’t finish the play,” Penwell said. “We didn’t really shoot ourselves in the foot despite the fumbles and interceptions.”

McClain looked like they might claw back into the game midway in the third period after senior defensive back Riley Cummins got a pick-6 on an unbelievable interception and raced 46 yards to pay dirt, making it 21-7 after Zane Adams converted the PAT.

“Riley (Cummins) played that play perfect on the pick-6,” Penwell said. “He has some experience out there and knows what to do. I thought he played it perfectly.”

But just as fast as Cummins out ran the Wildcats to the end zone, Williamsburg came right back moments later on their next offensive possession and scored on a two-yard run by quarterback Michael Corcoran, making it 27-7 after the PAT failed with 4:49 left in the third. It was a 65-yard drive that took eight plays to complete.

After another three-and-out by the Tigers, Williamsburg got a great punt return from Troy Harris, who returned the football 35 yards to the McClain 25-yard line.

The Wildcats wasted little time in scoring on the next play from scrimmage when Harris ran 25 yards almost untouched to the end zone.

After a successful PAT, it was 34-7 Wildcats, which is how the third period ended.

Williamsburg scored the last touchdown of the game after another interception on a 14-yard run by Kai Harris with 4:48 remaining in regulation.  Several Tigers had to leave the game due to injuries, which forced the McClain coaching staff to play a lot of kids with very little varsity playing time.

“We had several guys go down again tonight,” Penwell said. “Lots of people got playing time, and we need some other kids to step up and keep learning.

“Williamsburg has speed and some good athletes, and they’ve got a good quarterback that’s great on his feet and does a great job of keeping his eyes downfield. I thought we did a good job of containing him, but against their counter we didn’t make plays.

“Our kids played extremely hard tonight, and I don’t ever question their work ethics,” Penwell continued. “They work their tails off but just didn’t make enough plays tonight.”

McClain’s leading rusher in the game was senior tailback Owen Sykes, who had 43 yards on 11 carries. Freshman quarterback Hudson Lovett, who played in the second and fourth quarters, completed 9-of-23 passes for 75 yards with two interceptions.

Defensive leaders included Hayden Cornell with three and a half tackles, while Cummins and Andrew Roeder each made three.

McClain, now 1-4 on the season, has another tough battle next week when they host the FAC-defending champions Jackson Ironmen (3-2).

“The goal for our team right now is to just keep improving,” Penwell said. “It’s going to be a tough road the next couple of weeks.

“The FAC is a tough conference week in and week out, but we’ll go back to work and try to get ready for Jackson.”

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