Wayne Christian plays first-ever football game

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on September 11, 2015 1:48 PM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

Sweat pouring from their faces, Wayne Christian's players unbuckled their helmets and gathered around their coaches for a post-game meeting at midfield Thursday evening.

They had just made history.

Some players chewed on their mouthpieces while each coach praised them for their effort during the school's first-ever football game -- a 42-8 loss to Bethel Christian in eight-man action.

Defensive coach Scott Pender looked toward Gavin Wiley.

"Did you get a taste?" Pender asked Wiley.

"Yes, sir," Wiley answered.

"Did you like it?" Pender queried.

"Yes, sir," Wiley responded.

Pender then asked Wiley if he wanted to do it again and the ninth-grade running back/linebacker said "yes, sir" as the enthusiasm rippled through his voice.

"Good," smiled Pender.

An overflow crowd of supporters either sat in lounge chairs or filled the bleachers as the Eagles kicked off a new era in the school's athletic program.

Wiley and fellow ninth-grader Will White logged 11 tackles apiece on defense. White also rushed for 145 yards and scored the Eagles' lone touchdown -- a seven-yard scamper in the second quarter.

"Gavin had a good block for me (outside) and I just made it in there. It felt good," said White, who grew up playing football in tradition-rich Conyers, Ga.

"(Tonight) was pretty amazing."

The Eagles also played for classmate Will Gibson, who was diagnosed with lymphoma on Aug. 14. He's currently undergoing his second round of aggressive chemotherapy at Vidant Greenville.

White and his teammates wore bracelets that said "Gibby Strong" and held a sign with the same message when they took a team picture before the game.

"He should come home this weekend," said White as he choked back tears. "He'll have two weeks off, then he'll have to go back and do his third round of chemo. The doctor said he was doing great this week."

Bethel Christian recovered a fumbled and intercepted a pass to stop Wayne Christian's offense inside the red zone during the opening quarter. The second miscue eventually led to Caleb Griffith's 65-yard touchdown run with 1:22 to go.

The Trojans scored again early in the second quarter before White's short TD burst and Jaydon Young's two-point conversion run closed the gap to 16-8.

"(Wish we) could have had those first two touchdowns in the beginning," White said. "I think we played pretty good because 90 percent of these guys had never stepped on a football field before tonight. I'm happy for them. They did a lot better than I thought they'd do."

BC led 28-8 at halftime and extended its advantage in the second half. Griffith paced the Trojans' ground attack with 142 yards and three TDs. Quarterback Reese Jones completed two passes -- touchdown throws of 72 and 44 yards to Scott Sanderson.

Despite the outcome, WCS head coach Victor Young said that his team committed "fixable mistakes." It was also the first time the Eagles, who have just 13 players in uniform, experienced any live tackling.

"(White and Wiley) ran all over the field, but they were also my linebackers ... they played hard, did everything they could do (and) left it on the field," said Young, whose team compiled 211 yards of total offense.

"The defense ... it was tough to get into the swing of things, but they learned a lot. Next week, we should be a little bit better."

The Eagles travel to Cary Christian next Thursday.