Wheatmore Warriors search for winning ways, endure loss at East Davidson

THOMASVILLE – Wheatmore’s bid to make football inroads is bound to be a tussle, so a frustration-filled second half Monday night against East Davidson became troublesome on multiple levels.

“The disappointing part is we worked so hard,” Wheatmore two-way lineman Ashtin Bennett said. “No excuse to come out the way we did the second half. I know we can play better.”

East Davidson scored two second-half touchdowns to top the visiting Warriors 14-6 in a non-conference make-up game that was postponed from three nights earlier.

The Warriors (0-2) had been encouraged by this matchup, looking for a breakthrough early in coach Jacob Sheffield’s first season.

“I really thought we needed this one,” Sheffield said. “It breaks our hearts right there.”

The Warriors rode senior running back Johnathan Kelly, whose efforts included a 17-yard touchdown run on the final snap of the first quarter, as much as possible. He racked up 160 rushing yards on 30 often-punishing carries.

But those weren’t enough.

“Should be winning these games,” Kelly said. “We can’t get beat up about it. It is what it is, you’ve got to move on.”

Wheatmore has had five consecutive losing seasons, so halting the trend is a big-picture goal.

“It keeps repeating itself,” Kelly said. “We have to change it.”

Four turnovers contributed to Wheatmore’s troubles. The Golden Eagles (1-1) finally took advantage.

East Davidson’s Aiden Hassen caught a short pass and turned it into a 32-yard touchdown play midway through the third quarter on a rare defensive breakdown from the Warriors. Landin Newton’s extra-point kick made it 7-6.

Wheatmore had four more possessions with a chance to go ahead, but never threatened. Earlier in the second half, the Warriors didn’t convert after Gavin Strickland secured an interception.

East Davidson tacked on Jett Marcolivio’s 19-yard touchdown run with 1:07 to play.

“Things didn’t go the way we planned them to,” senior linebacker Dominic Hittepole said. “We’re growing and it’s a process. It’s rough.”

Wheatmore sophomore quarterback Connor Benton is trying to get adjusted to the varsity assignment. He was under regular duress.

“We had mistakes across the board,” Sheffield said. “We can’t string things together when we have penalties.”

For the coach, finding solutions on offense is the immediate concern.

“When all you have is a run game, you have to develop a pass game,” Sheffield said.  “Our defense is playing a very high level. We have to get this offense in gear.”