Raiders rally past Hornets

The Southland football team scored twice in the fourth quarter against Westfield to pull out a 12-6 win Friday.

Logan Morris scored from 8 yards out with six minutes to go, and Parker Weldon scored the game-winner on a 20-yard run with three minutes left as Southland broke a 10-game losing streak against Westfield. The loss also spoiled the debut of Jamey Watson, who was coaching his first game as the Hornets’ head coach after 18 years as an assistant.

Three who mattered

Weldon: The Southland sophomore had only 5 yards rushing in the first half but had 43 yards on six carries in the second half.

McCartney Cummins: The junior defensive back had two interceptions in the second half for the Raiders, the second one coming on Westfield’s final possession to key a defensive performance that held Westfield to 23 total yards in the second half.

Payton Black: The Westfield quarterback scored his team’s only touchdown early in the first quarter and hung tough in the second half despite battling cramps. He finished with 40 yards rushing.

Turning Point

Southland started to move the ball on its second possession in the third quarter, and Westfield, which was without 20 of its 22 starters from a year ago, started to have major issues with cramping. On that key drive, the Hornets had five players leave the game with cramps. Although they were able to hold off Southland on that drive, the Hornets were never the same.

Observations

Late rush: Southland had Westfield on the ropes the entire second half, but the Hornets turned them away until the fourth quarter. With Westfield unable to mount any kind of offense, Southland used a 48-yard run from Townsend Ray to set up the winning touchdown.

They said it

Watson on the cramping: “We as a football team thought that we were ready for the humidity, but we have so many new players on both sides of the ball that we just are not sure until we get them into a game. That is something that we will have to work on in the next few weeks, and I am sure the cramping situation will get better as it gets a little cooler. It was a very humid night, and we just did not handle it very well.”

Watson on the good things he saw from his team: “I thought we did a good job moving the football in the first half, and the defense hung tough until the very end of the game. Most of the guys are starting on the varsity for the very first time, and I am still very excited about what this football will do this season.”

What’s next?

Westfield is home again Friday to face Valwood.

This story was originally published August 19, 2016 at 11:52 PM.