Another week and another dominant performance as the No. 10 state-ranked West Orange-Stark Mustangs steamrolled the Shepherd Pirates, 62-16, Friday night at Dan R. Hooks Stadium in West Orange.
West Orange-Stark came out blazing and needed just two plays to reach the end zone as Jamarr O’Neal scored on a 34-yard run to put the Mustangs ahead, 7-0. On the next WO-S possession, Khelvy Jefferson roared through the Pirates defense for a 59-yard touchdown run and a 14-0 Mustangs lead with 9:35 left to play in the first quarter.
The Pirates answered on its next possession as Shepherd moved the ball 53-yards in four plays behind the legs of running back Preston Stephens who reeled off a big 46-yard gallop through the Mustangs defense to the 9-yard line. On the next play running back Jackory Davis punched the ball in for the score and cut the Mustangs lead, 14-8.
WO-S quarterback Marcus Turner Jr. had a sensational night passing the ball as he was near perfect. He completed a 30-yard pass to Jefferson to move the ball into Pirates territory at the 31-yard line. A few plays later running back Alexander Thomas scored on a 2-yard run to give WO-S a 21-8 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Shepherd quarterback Landen Dellinger engineered a nine-play, 61-yard drive on the Pirates next possession. Again, it was Stephens with the big play as he zipped for a 34-yard gain to the Mustangs 25-yard line. A few moments later it was Dellinger who capped off the 6:30 drive with a 1-yard plunge into the end zone to make the score 21-16 Mustangs.
WO-S hit another big play on the next possession as Turner connected with Ja’mikael Davis on a 57-yard catch and run for the score. WO-S led at the half, 28-16.
The Pirates took the opening possession of the third quarter and went backwards. Facing fourth and eight at its own 32, the snap for the punt went over Dellinger’s head and into the end zone. Dellinger opted to run the ball out but only made it to the one-yard line, where he pushed out of bounds and giving the ball back to WO-S.
The Mustangs scored on the next play as Thomas scored on a 1-yard run and West Orange-Stark never looked back.
Jefferson added a 6-yard touchdown run in the quarter, as did Turner who scored on a 22-yard run to the end zone to give WO-S a 49-16 lead at the end of the third quarter.
Raymond Shaw added a 29-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth quarter and Dylan Myers added a 1-yard touchdown late in the game to make the final score 62-16.
The Mustangs had 490 total yards of offense on Friday night against Shepherd, as Turner passed for 253 yards and one touchdown, while completing 12 throws in 13 attempts. Under Turner’s guidance, the Mustangs averaged nearly 15-yards per offensive play on the night.
Jefferson powered the WO-S rushing attack as he carried the ball only five times for 94 yards and two touchdowns, while Thomas added two touchdowns on two carries for just three yards.
Raymond Mallett Jr. had three receptions for 71 yards, while Jefferson had four catches for 49 yards on the night.
The West Orange-Stark defense held the Shepherd offense to just 263 total yards for the game, while coming up with two interceptions, one fumble recovery and one sack.
Stephens led all rushers on the night with 162 yards for the Pirates on 27 carries. Dellinger completed five of 13 passes for 68 yards with two interceptions. He had a rushing touchdown, while gaining 12 yards on 15 carries. Brayden White had three receptions for 52 yards.
West Orange-Stark (6-1, 2-0), currently on a five-game winning streak, will travel to Silsbee (5-2, 1-1) next Friday for another District 10-3A Division 1 battle. Silsbee beat Tarkington, 46-3, this past Friday night.
-Tommy Mann, KOGT-
SHEPHERD 8 8 0 0 16
WO-S 21 7 21 13 62
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