Saks overruns Wellborn
- Updated: August 29, 2014
Wildcats’ Figueroa rushes for 241 yards, Powell goes for 4 scores
Calvin Figueroa led a strong and balanced Saks ground game with 241 yards on 28 carries Friday night. (Photos by Greg McWilliams)
Wellborn’s Robert Montgomery (6) gets ready to knock the ball loose from Saks’ Calvin Figueroa in the third quarter Friday. The turnover produced Wellborn’s first touchdown.
Wellborn’s Landon Machristie (12) gets wrapped up by Saks’ Quindarious Smith and DiQuavius McCord (3).
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
Saks moved the football on the ground by committee Friday night and sent a big message to its future opponents.
The Wildcats had three running backs rush for more than 100 yards and racked up 523 yards on the ground as a team in beating Wellborn for the seventh time in the last 10 meetings 41-20.
Calvin Figueroa led the powerful and balanced attack with 241 yards on 28 carries and Demetrius Powell ran for four first-half touchdowns as the Wildcats extended their regular-season winning streak to 13 games. The third member of the committee, quarterback Devin Harris, rushed for 171 yards.
“We’ve got some guys we like running the football,” Saks coach Jonathan Miller said. “We’re going to try to keep them fresh on a night when it’s humid or hot like today. We’re confident in all our guys running the football. That’s something we’ll do the rest of the season.”
All three had 100 yards by halftime and each had their time to shine. Harris rushed for 93 yards in the first quarter – 138 in the first half – and scored the game’s first touchdown on a 49-yard burst.
Powell was a problem for the Panthers throughout the first half, rushing for 122 yards and scoring on runs of 23, 14, 37 and 9 yards. The Wildcats led 34-0 at halftime.
“I was just having a lot of fun out here tonight,” Powell said. “We wanted to come out and show last year’s (run to the state semifinals) was not a fluke. We just came out and knew what we had to do to get the W. I knew if my line was going to block for me I’d do big things for them.”
The biggest night belonged to Figueroa. He produced on opening night a little more than one-third of his rushing total of all last season. He had 124 yards rushing in the second half and capped his night with a 2-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter.
The sophomore had such an impact the stadium public address announcer credited him with Wellborn’s long return on the kickoff following his touchdown.
“Coach has been telling me I’m going to get the big role,” Figueroa said. “They prepared me and I’ve prepared myself. I’ve watched a lot of the people in front of me and learned from them.”
While Saks was grinding out big chunks of yardage, Wellborn couldn’t get moving. The Panthers were held to 45 yards in the first half and even though they had only 131 yards in the game, they moved the ball a lot better in the second half.
The Panthers got on the board early in the third quarter when Derrick Rhoden returned a stripped ball 1 yard for a touchdown. Landon Machristie and Rhoden scored on short touchdown runs in the fourth quarter.
“I think Saks has a very good football team and they came out ready to play,” Wellborn coach Jeff Smith said. “The game is how well Saks played.”
Saks 41, Wellborn 20
Wellborn 0 0 6 14 — 20
Saks 12 22 0 7 — 41
S – Devin Harris 49 run (run failed)
S – Demetrius Powell 23 run (run failed)
S – Powell 14 run (Harris run)
S – Powell 37 run (Harris run)
S – Powell 9 run (pass failed)
W – Derrick Rhoden 1 fumble recovery (kick failed)
W – Landon Machristie 2 run (PAT failed)
S – Calvin Figueroa 2 run (Marcelous Mosley kick)
W – Rhoden 2 run (Kevin Mixon run)
Well Saks
First downs 9 26
Rush-yds 25-46 59-523
C-A-I 9-14-0 2-5-0
Pass yds 85 16
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 2-2
Punts-avg 6-34.2 0-0
Penalties 3-25 3-25
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