E. Wayne dominates Greene Central
By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on September 8, 2012 11:29 PM
So much for that two-quarterback system Eastern Wayne expected to use this season.
The starting job belongs to Mitch Pike.
The sophomore accounted for five touchdowns -- three passing and two rushing -- in a 42-14 shellacking of Greene Central on a muggy Friday evening at Little Big Horn. The Warriors climbed to 2-2 overall and beat the Rams for the second time in their last three meetings.
"Mitch played a good game, played competitive and we have to work on his decision making, which is an every week battle with a sophomore," EW head coach Bubba Williams. "He had some guys around him to make some plays on some tipped balls and helped him out.
"Offensively, we executed and we're down about three starters, so I think it was a good effort."
Pike completed 11 of 17 passes for a career-best 205 yards and shared the wealth among five receivers. The 5-foot-8, 160-pound read through his progressions and connected with receivers in open spaces against a Greene Central secondary that played too soft.
Deshawn Boudy hauled in four receptions for a team- and game-high 105 yards. The sophomore wide receiver caught a tipped pass by Greene Central defensive back Micheal Mitchell -- while falling backwards -- that set up Pike's go-ahead touchdown pass to Lavoris Vick early in the second quarter.
Junior Alex Davilla and sophomore Micah Smith each pulled down a touchdown pass. The duo, along with Vick, combined to catch seven balls for 100 yards.
"Mitch put in the work tonight," a grinning Boudy said. "They have good corners, but they were playing deep so underneath routes were wide open, and they weren't quick enough to get there."
Pike praised an offensive line that gritted its collective teeth in the trenches and gave him tremendous protection. He had 162 yards passing by halftime.
"All my credit to the guards, tackles and center holding up those guys on the option and passing plays," Pike said. "I had all the time in the world to make my decisions. I've got four fantastic receivers and two more who come in, and they all did a fantastic job catching the ball.
"I am so proud of them."
Greene Central left plenty of points on the field for the third consecutive week. The Rams tallied a touchdown in each of the first and fourth quarters, but came up empty-handed on four other possessions inside the Warriors' 30-yard line.
Three turnovers further compounded their troubles.
"We took a step forward in some aspects from last week, and I'm proud of us for doing that," GC head coach Ken Grantham said. "There's a lot of areas we have to get better on."