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| West receiver Andrew Bodenheimer catches a pass during the win over Mount Tabor. |
But after a momentous 39-15 triumph over Mount Tabor, Chip Petree could have a serious problem on his hands.
How will he and his West Forsyth football team ever top the dominant showing that they delivered in their one-sided romp over the Spartans last Friday night?
“I don’t know,” admitted the Titan head coach following West’s latest and most impressive win of the 2006 season. “But I do know that we’ll do our best to find a way. We have a bunch of experienced players who are never satisfied. They strive to get better every week.”
Even so, it will be a challenge to surpass or even duplicate the near-flawless 48 minutes of dominance that West produced against the hosting Spartans. Led by dominant line play on both sides of the ball, the Titans seized control early and never let go.
On offense, they churned out 345 rushing yards and raced to a 19-0 lead through the first 18 minutes of play. Brad Brower paced the attack with three touchdowns but Petree insisted that the lion’s share of praise should go to his offensive linemen.
“Zach Sharron, Christian Dial, Joey Vegerano, Jake Mueller, Darren Webber and tight end Brooks Ore. Make sure those guys get the recognition they deserve,” he said emphatically. “They dominated the line of scrimmage all night long.
“And on defense, (linemen) Alex Cutler, Ron Howell and Don Maciel also deserve a lot of credit. Our linebackers and defensive backs were great, but the line sets the tone for everything that we do.”
Although passing yards were limited, West quarterback Maurice Hughes managed to produce two touchdowns, including a crowd-pleasing 25-yard scramble that sealed the win early in the third quarter. Jeff Gonza also ran for a second-half score.
On defense, David McConnell, Ricky Finkley, John Stamper and Luke Elliott each intercepted a pass to stifle the Spartan passing attack.
The win was West’s fifth in a row, raising their overall record to 6-2. It was also their third straight Central Piedmont Conference win and marked the first time this season that they are alone atop the conference standings. Mount Tabor and Davie, the CPC’s other two top teams, now have one loss each.
“It’s nice to be in a position where you control your own fate,” said Petree. “If Mount Tabor had won this game, (winning) the conference title was going to be a long shot for us. But now we control our own destiny the rest of the way.”
That destiny includes this Friday’s homecoming game against East Rowan and another home game against South Rowan on October 20th. The Titans will close out the regular season with a highly-anticipated showdown against Davie County in Mocksville on October 27th.
“Homecoming week is a lot of fun but it’s also easy to lose focus if you’re not careful,” added Petree. “East Rowan stunned North Davidson 7-3 at North Davidson last week. That’s a big achievement.
“And the week before that they lost to Reynolds in a game they should have won. We absolutely cannot afford to take them lightly.”