Clegg passes West. Reserve past Mathews
By Jim flick
VIENNA
Quarterback Jeffrey Clegg threw three touchdown passes and passed for 287 yards, leading the Western Reserve Blue Devils to a 28-0 victory over Mathews on Friday night.
Clegg also ran 6 yards for the final touchdown of the night.
Clegg’s busiest targets were wide receivers Ryley Sheptock and Tim Cooper, who each caught a pass for a touchdown. Sheptock caught six passes for 9 yards, while Cooper snagged five passes for 82 yards.
Thomas Benyo caught three passes from Clegg, gaining 61 yards and scoring a touchdown.
But after it was all over, Western Reserve coach Andrew Hake wasn’t completely satisfied.
“It was a meal that filled me up, but didn’t taste good,” Hake told the team after the game.
“You played ugly and won. You need to learn from your mistakes.”
Hake explained the Blue Devils made too many mistakes, even as they won. Western Reserve fumbled the ball away four times, Clegg throw one interception, and the team was penalized six times for 90 yards.
Clegg agreed with his coach’s evaluation of the game. “This isn’t what we wanted to do. We need to practice harder and really fix these things right.
“We got the will,” Clegg added. “Now we need to get ready for Independence,” Western Reserve’s next opponent.
The game was Mathews coach David Harries’ first game, and he commended his players’ effort. “The kids played hard until the end.
“We’re not going to give up,” Harries added. “We’ll have some good things happen.”
In the first quarter, the teams traded fumbles before Ryley Sheptock, a senior, caught a pass from Clegg and rambled 28 yards into the end zone halfway through the first quarter.
But Mathews’ defense frustrated the Western Reserve offense for the rest of the first quarter and most of the second quarter. But with just over a minute left before halftime, Clegg struck again, this time tossing an 18-yard touchdown strike to Cooper.
Most of the third quarter passed with the teams frustrating each other’s offensive efforts, until Clegg threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Benyo with just 2:17 remaining in the period.
Clegg ran the ball into the end zone himself in the fourth quarter. Sheptock then added the two-point conversion.
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