Woodcreek widens eyes with blowout of Jesuit

If there was an eye-opening result of the first week of football games it was Woodcreek's dominating 38-13 blowout victory over Jesuit. The Timberwolves feature a new coach and new offensive system this season, yet came out and led 21-0 in blink of an eye, on their way to a 25-point win. "I knew that if we played to our potential we could win, but we came out and before either team could blink we were up 21-0," Woodcreek coach Kyle Stowers said. "If we played well up front, and we did, I think we can play with just about anyone. Our kids came out with so much fire." The game began with Max Nereson scooping up a Jesuit fumble and returning it 67 yards for a touchdown, one of six turnovers the Marauders had in the game. On Jesuit's second possession, Trace Murchison intercepted a pass and on Woodcreek's first play from scrimmage running their new pistol offense, Blake Hastings took a handoff and raced 53 yards for a touchdown and Woodcreek led 14-0. Jesuit's third possession ended the same way the second one did, this time with an interception from linebacker Roman Pereyda. On Woodcreek's second play from scrimmage, quarterback Joey Melendez took it 40 yards into the end zone and Woodcreek led 21-0 just five minutes into the game. A Brody Simpson 25-yard field goal gave the Timberwolves a 24-0 lead by the end of the first quarter and the rout was on. "I'll tell you this credit needs to be given to our defensive coordinator Paul Benoit," Stowers said. "The defense came out dialed in and ready to go. Jesuit is good at what they do and they're big up front and I was worried about them leaning on us, but we came out dialed in and the kids took hold of the game." Both teams scored two touchdowns the rest of the game. Kingston Acosta scored on a two-yard run to give the Timberwolves a 31-7 lead at the half and Jasper Liggins scored the team's final touchdown in the fourth quarter, as Woodcreek won it, 38-13. Liggins is an offensive lineman who plays fullback in the team's goal-line package. Woodcreek benefited from six Jesuit turnovers with interceptions from Murchison, Pereyda, Ethan Keim and DJ Mosley and fumble recoveries from Nereson and Kegan Nitterhouse. Stowers was also pleased with the play of his quarterback, Joey Melendez. "Joey managed the game so well," Stowers said. "It was a much different game than we thought. We got up 24-0 and it was a different game. We didn't have to throw the ball so much; we didn't have to open up the offense. In the second half, we were just trying to get first downs by running the ball. "Up front we played great. There is always room for improvement." Melendez completed six-of-eight passes for 51 yards. The Timberwolves travel to Whitney on Friday to face the Wildcats, who were somewhat of a surprise 17-13 winner over West Park on Friday night. "I told the team that I'm going to coach them on Monday like we lost on Friday," Stowers said. "I told them to enjoy the victory, but that we've got to win next week and that's the challenge. At the same time you've got to learn how to recover from a loss, you've got to also learn how to deal with success. The team has to learn how to manage success just like they have to learn to adjust from failure."