Sandies Run Roughshod over Mustangs, 49-8

Grapeland Moves to 4-1

By Will Johnson

Messenger Reporter

GRAPELAND – The Grapeland Sandies were back in the friendly confines of Sandie Stadium on Friday night as they welcomed the Burkeville Mustangs to town.

The Sandies came into the contest with a record of 3-1 with their one loss coming a week earlier at the hands of the Kirbyville Wildcats by a score of 61-18. The Mustangs were 1-2 and had eked out a one-point win over Mt. Enterprise (0-4) the week before.

The game began with neither team being able to move the ball but that all changed quickly midway through the first quarter.

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Following a botched punt attempt by the Mustangs, the Sandies took over at the Burkeville 38-yard line. Two plays later, Lakerian Smith found a seam around the right side of the defense and slipped into the end zone from 16 yards out for the first score of the game. Cadarian Wiley tacked on the two-point conversion and with 5:06 left in the opening quarter, Grapeland led 8-0.

The next time the Mustangs had the ball, they went backwards. On first down, they lost five yards. On second down Christopher Stelly was thrown for a two-yard loss and on third down, Sean Cannon and Jason DeCluette crunched Burkeville QB JaiQuies Lewis for a sack.

The sack forced the Mustangs to punt and the Sandies took over at their own 42-yard line. A holding call on first down pushed Grapeland back to the 32, but on the next play from scrimmage, BJ Lamb found Riley Murchison on a 68-yard strike, for what appeared to be a touchdown. 

Unfortunately, the boys in maroon were flagged for having an illegal man downfield. The Sandies were unable to dig themselves out of a first and 25 and were forced to punt. On the kick, however, a Burkeville player touched the ball and the Sandies pounced on it at their own 41.

Grapeland, however, gave the ball right back to the visiting team on a fumble at the 46-yard line. Try as they might, the Mustangs were unable to find any offense and turned the ball over on downs as the second quarter got underway.

When the Sandies took possession, they went back to the well as Lamb and Murchison hooked up for a 38-yard reception to move into the Burkeville red zone. Wiley took it to the house on the next play – from 14 yards out – and when Smith bulled his way across the goal line on the two-point conversion, Grapeland led 16-0 with 9:46 left in the first half.

Things turned ugly for the Mustangs after that. A mishandled ball on the kickoff forced Burkeville to start at their own five. A pair of incompletions from Lewis and a gain of one from Zadyn Brooks resulted in a Mustangs’ punt.

The kick only made it out to the 20 and on the next play, Wiley burst through the middle on his way to his second TD of the night. The extra point was no good but with 7:53 left in the quarter, Grapeland now led 23-0.

Following the kickoff, Burkeville set up at their own 36. On first down, Lewis broke free for 33 yards, down to the Grapeland 31. An illegal procedure call pushed the Mustangs back five yards. A pair of incompletions followed by a pickup of only three by Ryan Sims put the Mustangs in a fourth and 12 situation from the Sandies’ 33. Once again, the Grapeland D rose up and stuffed a run by Brooks, resulting in a turnover on downs. 

A penalty on first down knocked the Sandies back to their own 29, but then the Grapeland offense went to work. Lamb found Murchison for 15 yards and then Smith moved the Sandies into Mustang territory with a seven-yard gain. Wiley followed with a 27-yard scamper to the Burkeville 20 and on the next play, Lamb connected with Cooper Sheridan on a 20-yard TD to extend the Grapeland lead out to 29-0 with 3:42 left to play in the half.

The Sandies had one more chance to put points on the board before halftime, but in a show of sportsmanship, Coach Terry Ward instructed Lamb to take a knee as the first half came to a close.

As the second half got underway, the Sandies put the game on ice. Grapeland opened the third quarter with possession of the ball near midfield. Smith lost a yard on first down, but on second down, Wiley broke loose on a 49-yard scoring romp. Smith plowed his way across the goal line for the two point conversion and with less than a minute gone in the third quarter, the Sandies now led 36-0.

Burkeville’s first possession of the second half ended with a turnover. Starting at their own 41, Stelly picked up 15 yards to move into Grapeland territory. He was stuffed for no gain on the next play and when Lewis dropped back to pass on second and 10, he was drilled by Colton Franklin. His pass attempt was a floater and Sheridan managed to slide under it for an interception at the 44-yard line.

Grapeland didn’t waste any time extending their lead as Smith took a handoff on first down and galloped 56 yards to the end zone to make the score 42-0 with 9:08 left in the third.

At that point in the game, the officials allowed the clock to run. Burkeville finally managed to break into the scoring column with a 16-yard TD from Brooks as well as a two-point conversion to make the score 42-8 at the 4:56 mark of the third.

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The Sandies added one more TD as Michael Dancer scored on a 14-yard run with 10:55 left in the fourth quarter. Zamorian Smith knocked home the PAT to close out the scoring as Grapeland cruised to the 49-8 win.

On the game, Cadarian Wiley led the way with eight carries for 127 yards, three touchdowns and one two-point conversion. Lakerian Smith also eclipsed the 100-yard mark on the ground as he finished with 102 yards on seven carries, with two touchdowns, one two-point conversion and two PATs. Michael Dancer had two attempts for 13 yards and one TD.

In the passing department, BJ Lamb was six of eight for 102 yards and one TD.

Riley Murchison hauled in two receptions for 54 yards, Omarian Wiley caught two for 21 and Cooper Sheridan hauled in a 20-yard TD. 

Next week, the Sandies open district play with a familiar foe – the Alto Yellow Jackets. The Jackets, surprisingly, are 0-4 on the season and have averaged less than seven points per contest. Still, it is Alto and the Jackets always play the Sandies tough.

The game will be held in Alto with a 7 pm kickoff. Please see the Alto ISD website for COVID-19 protocols. Their website is found at www.alto.esc7.net/departments/athletics.                          

Will Johnson may be contacted via e-mail at [email protected].