Grapeland Hammers Cayuga, 50-6
Sandies Ruin Wildcats’ Homecoming
By Will Johnson
Messenger Reporter
CAYUGA – The Grapeland Sandies hit the road for the first time in the 2020 football season as they brought their 2-0 record to Cayuga for a tilt against the Wildcats. It was Homecoming for Cayuga and the Wildcats sported a 1-1 mark when they took the field at Scarborough Stadium.
It was also Sept. 11 and following the pre-game homecoming festivities, a tribute to the fallen of 9/11 was presented by the Wildcats. Unfortunately for the home team, that was the highlight of the night as the Sandies scored early and often on their way to a 50-6 blowout win.
Grapeland won the opening coin toss and elected to receive. A fumble on the Sandies third play from scrimmage gave the ball to the Wildcats at the Sandies’ 49. A facemask penalty against Grapeland moved the ball to the 34, but a sack by William McClendon and two incompletions by Cayuga QB Logan Vaughan put the Wildcats in a 4th and 12 situation at the Grapeland 36.
Rather than risk going for it, the Wildcats used a quick kick to pin the Sandies at their own one-yard-line.
It seemed like a good plan at the time. On first down, Cadarian Wiley took a handoff and broke loose on a 54-yard gallop. On the next play, Grapeland QB BJ Lamb connected with wide-out Keizion Ashford for a 45-yard scoring strike. Lamb followed up with a completion to Omarian Wiley for two points and with 9:13 left in the quarter, Grapeland led 8-0.
On the Wildcats ensuing possession, they turned the ball over on downs and the Sandies were quick to take advantage. Ashford ripped off 17 yards to move the ball to the Cayuga 33-yard-line. C. Wiley picked up a yard on the next play and then broke loose on his second big play of the first quarter as he grabbed the rock and rambled 32 yards to pay dirt. Lamb found Riley Murchison on the two point attempt and with 5:33 left in the first, the Sandies now led 16-0.
Cayuga shot themselves in the foot the next time they touched the ball. On first down, the Wildcats put the pigskin on the ground and McClendon pounced on it for Grapeland at the Cayuga 34. Following a slew of penalties from both teams, the Sandies found themselves at the 30-yard-line.
Following an incompletion, Lamb found Michael Dancer on a 30-yard TD pass and when Ashford slipped across the goal line on the two-point attempt, Grapeland led 24-0.
The Wildcats finally found a little offense as the second quarter got underway. Back-to-back running plays netted two yards for the Wildcats but on third-and-eight, Vaughan found his receiver on a 45-yard completion to move the Wildcats inside the five-yard-line of the Sandies. From there, Vaughan bulled his way up the middle for six to make the score 24-6, with 5:48 left in the half.
Grapeland answered right back, however. On first down from their own 35, C. Wiley took a pitch from Lamb, found a crease in the Cayuga defense and sprinted 65 yards to the end zone to make the score 30-6.
Things didn’t get much better on the Wildcats’ next possession. Starting at their own 18, Cayuga was flagged for a false start, which moved the ball back to the 13. Vaughan threw incomplete on the next play and was thrown for a loss on second down.
Faced with a third-and-16 from his own 12, Vaughan dropped back to pass. The pass was tipped and Ashford stepped in front of it for a 26-yard pick six. The interception return brought the score to 36-6 and closed out the first half scoring.
As the second half got underway, the Wildcats mounted a drive and made their way inside the Grapeland 30-yard line. On a fourth-and-three however, Vaughan was picked off at the 11-yard-line by Lamb.
It didn’t take long for the Sandies to extend their lead as the very next play saw Ashford break free on an 89-yard scoring romp to make the score 42-6 with 7:29 left in the third. C. Wiley added the two-point conversion to extend the lead to 44-6.
The Sandies added another TD on a six-yard TD from C. Wiley to start the fourth quarter and then throttled to it down as they cruised to a 50-6 win. The victory moved Grapeland’s record to 3-0 on the season.
Grapeland was led by Cadarian Wiley who carried the ball seven times for 202 yards, three TDs and one two-point conversion. Keizion Ashford also had a big game as he carried the ball three times for 109 yards and one TD. Ashford also caught one pass for 45 yards and a TD as well as returning an interception for a 26-yard TD. He also had a reception for a two-point conversion.
Grapeland QB BJ Lamb was six of eight on the night for 108 yards and two TDs. Michael Dancer had one reception for 30 yards and a TD, while Riley Murchison and Omarian Wiley both scored on two-point conversions.
The Sandies will stay on the road this Friday, Sept. 18 as they travel to Kirbyville to take on the Class 3A Kirbyville Wildcats. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 pm.
Will Johnson may be contacted via e-mail at [email protected].
