Khelvy Jefferson looked capable of running faster and better than ever Friday night, exploding for five touchdowns in West Orange-Stark’s 44-28 victory over error-prone Newton.
Jefferson scored from short, medium and long range as the Mustangs acquired the opening night’s upper hand after the Eagles fumbled five times in the second quarter and struggled against a smothering Mustangs’ defense led by J’Terrion Levi and Anterrion Fontenot.
WO-S attempted one second-half pass and never needed to throw because its all-state senior tailback rushed 22 times for a net 174 yards with scoring runs of 51, 1, 80, 12, and 5 yards.
Showing patience to detect openings in Newton’s defense, Jefferson seemed intent on flashing more speed than in his record-breaking junior year. Or at least Khelvy believed he looked faster than ever.
“Definitely, I’ve been running hills, working hard and putting my trust in God,” the 5-3 dynamo said. “I think our quarterback has improved big time, too.”
Mustangs senior field general Kwalin Dugas collected 15 carries for 70 yards and completed 2 of 3 passes for 22 more.
Jefferson and Dugas each would have compiled higher rushing numbers but they sustained negative yardage on 14 snaps. Head coach Hiawatha Hickman admitted the win contained its share of ragged edges.
“We had a lot of positive and negative plays but when we hit it, it really hit,” Hickman said. “Our defensive front did a great job of forcing a lot of Newton’s fumbles.”
A standout linebacker leader in the WO-S defense, Fontenot received double- and triple-team attention from Newton’s blockers. That enabled Levi and others to swarm into the Eagles’ backfield, causing errant pitchouts and creating loose footballs.
Newton’s all-state runner Kendray Porter, Jr., broke loose for 166 yards on 17 carries and touchdown gallops of 5, 7 and 89 yards. Porter did what he could but Newton’s offensive line struggled to cope with the Mustangs’ defensive front.
“We wanted to be fast and physical with them,” Levi said. “They definitely were struggling because we were giving it our all and getting into their backfield.”
Mustangs’ penetration turned the game midway in the second quarter, when Newton quarterback Izayah Foster flipped a pitchout in Porter’s direction. WO-S outside backer Joshua Bundage rambled 25 yards with the recovery to the one-yard line. Jefferson’s subsequent score lifted WO-S in front for keeps — 16-14 with 7:40 left in the first half.
Dugas and Jefferson added scoring runs of 47 and 80 moments later, fattening the cushion to 30-14 with three minutes left in the half. The game turned into an uphill battle for Newton after that.
“We’ve just got to clean up that stuff,” Newton coach Drew Johnston said. “(Five second-quarter fumbles) that will do it. It’s hard to stay in the game that way. But we battled back after that.
“Their defensive front was really good. We blocked them but we just lost our composure.”
To their credit, the Eagles kept battling. Porter’s 89-yard sprint down Newton’s sideline trimmed the Mustangs lead to 30-22 with 4:46 left in the third quarter. Newton’s defense enabled the Eagles to gain more momentum before Fontenot and Khelon Joulevette intercepted Foster’s passes on Newton’s next two possessions.
WO-S will try to keep it rolling next week when it will entertain Nederland while Newton will oppose Franklin in a neutral site game at Henderson.
-Tom Halliburton, KOGT-
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