MORROW — It was a wild season opener for Wilmington and Little Miami Friday night at Little Miami High school.
In the end, it was the Hurricane that survived the roller coaster ride, winning 48-26.
“We handled adversity,” said WHS head coach Scott Killen. “We came through. We still put up 48 points. I feel we left three or four touchdowns on the field.”
Dylan Beaugard was a big reason Wilmington (1-0) exited the opener with a victory.
Little Miami had pulled within seven, 20-13, thanks to its strong-legged kicker Paul Sizemore who boomed his second field goal of the night on the second play of the fourth quarter to make it a seven-point game.
What followed for the next quarter was a wild ride. In total, the two teams combined for 44 fourth quarter points, and Beaugard had an emphatic answer for the Sizemore score.
On the ensuing kickoff, Beaugard ran it back 89 yards for a touchdown. He used good blocking to get to midfield, then turned on the jets to pull away.
That touchdown was in addition to a first half receiving touchdown. He would add a 46-yard interception return in the final minutes for good measure.
On the night, he had 53 yards rushing, 51 yards receiving and 117 return yards.
“Dylan is one of those athletes that whatever you ask him to do, he’s going to do it,” said Killen. “He’s a player.
“On this team, we’ve got a lot of athletes that can do a lot of damage if we get the ball to them.”
Another one of those athletes is quarterback Matt Creditt. He rushed for 94 yards and two touchdowns and threw for 115 yards and two more scores.
Wilmington ran at will against the Panthers, putting up 242 yards rushing on 33 carries.
“I thought our offensive line took a big step,” Killen said. “They played a very, very good game.”
Still, Killen wasn’t pleased with some of the miscues. Wilmington had two interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown. They had five fumbles (one lost) and allowed a kickoff return for a touchdown.
“Little Miami is a much-improved team,” said Killen. “We left a lot of points on the field. We had breakdowns here and there which we can’t have. Against good teams, that’s going to beat us.”
One of those good teams is Bellbrook, Wilmington’s week two opponent.
“They made the second round of the playoffs last year,” said Killen of his week two opponent. “They’ve got a lot more tradition than we do. We’re going to have to clean up our mistakes and our mess-ups, or we’re going to be in for a tough one.”
SUMMARY
Aug 28, 2015
@Little Miami High School
WL.7.7.6.28…..48
LM.3.7.0.16…..26
First Quarter
W – Matt Creditt 28-yard run (Brady Henry kick) 5:22
LM – Paul Sizemore 37-yard field goal 2:24
Second Quarter
W – Creditt 9-yard run (Henry kick) 6:41
LM – Lucas Patten 20-yard interception return (Sizemore kick) 3:06
Third Quarter
W – Creditt 17-yard pass to Dylan Beaugard (run failed) 3:13
Fourth Quarter
LM – Sizemore 27-yard field goal 11:46
W – Beaugard 89-yard kickoff return (Henry kick) 11:33
W – Creditt 19-yard pass to Alex Miller (Henry kick) 6:15
LM – Nigel McCraney 3-yard run (Sizemore kick) 1:42
W – Miller 50-yard kickoff return (Henry kick) 1:33
W – Beaugard 46-yard interception return (Henry kick) 35.5
LM – Dylan Carpenter 78-yard kickoff return (run failed) 21.7
Team Stats
PLAYS: W 51; LM 56. FIRST DOWNS: W 17; LM 11. RUSHES-YARDS: W 33-242; LM 35-151. PASSING YARDS: W 115; LM 54. COMPLETIONS-ATTEMPTS-INTERCEPTIONS: W 9-19-1; LM 8-19-1. TOTAL YARDS: W 357; LM 205. PENALTIES-YARDS: W 4-50; LM 5-45. FUMBLES-LOST: W 5-1; LM 4-3.
Individual Stats
Rushing (carries-yards): W Creditt 15-94 2 TDs; Frisco 10-91; Beaugard 6-53. LM McCraney 2-16 TD; Weisenburgh 6-48; Sizemore 9-33; Patten 5-35.
Passing (completions-attempts-interceptions): W Creditt 9-19-1 115 yards 2 TDs. LM Dusty Lykins 8-19-1 54 yards.
Receiving (catches-yards): W Beaugard 4-51 TD; Miller 4-63 TD.
