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BLADENBORO – Senior Tydrick Stewart piled up 169 yards of total offense and scored 2 touchdowns as West Bladen rode a 20-point 3rd quarter explosion to a 23-0 non-conference football victory over East Columbus Friday night.

After junior Aaron Lewis pounced on a Gator on-side kick to begin the 2nd half, the Knights rolled 54 yards in 7 plays to take a 6-0 lead. Stewart ignited the march with runs of 8, 6 and 15 yards. Burly senior Purnell Hooper blasted through the line and into the end zone from 7 yards out for the touchdown and a 6-0 lead at the 8:24 mark.

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A high snap on a Gator punt attempt resulted in a 17-yard loss and turned the ball over to the Knights at the East 6 yard line. Stewart outran the defense to the left pylon on the next play. Hooper pounded his way into the end zone for the 2-point conversion and a 14-0 West lead with 6:49 on the clock.

The teams exchanged possessions until a lost East fumble was recovered by Hooper at the Gator 36. On the next play Stewart scooted through the line and raced 36 yards for the touchdown and a 20-0 lead 33 seconds before the quarter break.

Hooper sacked the quarterback for a 14-yard loss that pushed East Columbus back to their 6 yard line, before quarterback Ayden Graham connected with junior C. J. Waddell on a crossing pattern that resulted in a 72-yard gain. Stewart ran down Waddell to save the touchdown.

The Knight defense stiffened at their own 22 yard line, and after 3 incomplete passes, East Columbus turned the ball over on downs.

West Bladen responded with a time-consuming 63-yard drive in 12 plays. Junior Malijah McKoy darted 15 yards, and Hooper powered through the middle for gains of 5, 11 and 17 yards. The drive stalled at the Gator 15 yard line, but sophomore Cade Allen kicked a 32-yard field goal with 2:09 remaining to pad the lead to 23-0.

“We had been preaching all week to the guys that we needed 100% effort tonight,” said Knight Coach Stanley Williams. “We felt they had been playing too tentative, afraid of making a mistake. We told them to just give us all they had and not to worry about mistakes – we can fix those. We can’t fix their effort or their hearts.”

Stewart rushed 17 times for 128 yards and 2 touchdowns and caught 3 passes for 41 yards. Hooper gained 48 yards on 6 rushes and scored a touchdown and a 2-point conversion. On defense Hooper recovered a fumble, had 5 tackles and the quarterback sack for minus 14 yards.

“Pernell is so emotional and so pumped up, we have to keep him caged up, but when we release him – Look Out!” said Williams. “Big shout out to the offensive line tonight. They are the heroes. They usually don’t get their names in the papers. I tell our backs that they don’t gain anything without the O-Line.”

The Knights rushed 38 times for 205 yards, and freshman quarterback Hunter Hester completed 4 of 14 passes for 57 yards. Junior Travis Baxley had 1 pass reception for 16 yards.

Lewis led the Knight defense with 13 tackles and had the key recovery of the on-side kick. Junior Cornelius Esters made 5 tackles and intercepted a pass. Senior Deonte Lacy finished with 6 tackles, 2 quarterback sacks for -17 yards and 2 pass hurries. Junior Jahmar Richardson also contributed 5 tackles.

Graham completed 11 of 19 passes for 135 yards to supply the bulk of the Gator offense. Waddell snared 7 passes for 130 yards. East Columbus rushed 21 times for minus 5 yards due to the Knight defense sacking the Gators 7 times for 56 yards in losses.

Javarrie Adams, who played for West Bladen in the season opener against South Columbus and was later dismissed from the team, transferred to East Columbus and was on the field for the Gators Friday night. Adams was dropped for a 10-yard loss and finished with -7 yards rushing on 6 carries. He threw 1 incomplete pass and caught 1 pass for 2 yards.

West Bladen, now 1-3, will travel to Clinton Friday night to open Southeastern Athletic Conference play.

East Columbus 0-0- 0-0—0
West Bladen 0-0-20-3—23
WB – Pernall Hooper 7 run (bad snap foiled kick)
WB – Tydrick Stewart 6 run (Hooper run) 6
WB – Stewart 36 run (bad snap)
WB – Cade Allen 32 Field Goal

Rushing
West Bladen: Stewart 17-128, Hooper 6-48, Malijah McKoy 3-17, Jahmar Richardson 4-12, Messyah Whitted 4-10, Hunter Hester 4-(-10).
East Columbus: C. J. Waddell 1-7, R. J. Hester 2-5, Levi Zickafoose 1-4, Ayden Graham 10-3, Javarrie Adams 6-(-7), Aaron Mitchell 1-(-17).

Passing
West Bladen: Hester 4-14-0 for 57.
East Columbus: Graham 11-19-1 for 135, Mitchell 0-2-0, Adams 0-1-0.

Receiving
West Bladen: Stewart 3-41, Travis Baxley 1-16.
East Columbus: Waddell 7-130, Tyrese Simpson 1-3, Adams 1-2, Jaquise Smith 1-2, Bobby Barsh 1-(-2).