Staff Reports
SAND ROCK – Sand Rock quarterback Ace Ashley connected on 26-of-44 pass attempts for 383 yards and three touchdowns, two of which went to Jace Turner, but West End spoiled the Wildcats’ homecoming by winning 44-21 in non-region football action on Friday night.
The Patriots (5-1) scored three first-quarter touchdowns to take control of the game early. Kane Lawson scored on a 73-yard run, then Tyler Jones connected with Thad Pearce on a pair of touchdown passes from 48 and 50 yards to provide the Patriots a 21-0 advantage.
Jones completed 10-of-19 pass attempts for 187 yards and two touchdowns, both to Pearce. He also ran in for a score. Pearce was his top receiver with five catches for 113 yards.
Sand Rock (2-4) finally got on the scoreboard early in the second quarter when Ashley hooked up with Turner on a 50-yard touchdown pass to make it a 21-6 game.
West End scored again with 38 seconds left in the first half on Jones’ 3-yard touchdown run to go up 28-6, but the Wildcats had enough time to respond on Ashley’s 80-yard touchdown pass to Turner just 14 seconds later to make it a 28-14 score at halftime.
Turner tallied five catches for 161 yards and two touchdowns. He also had three tackles and an interception on defense.
The Patriots scored the only points of the third quarter on a 43-yard field goal by Evan Stancil, then Lawson ran in for a 21-yard score to push West End’s lead to 37-14.
Lawson led the Patriot rushers with 153 yards on just seven carries with two scores. On defense, he intercepted Ashley and returned it for a touchdown in the fourth quarter to make it a 44-14 game.
Ashley hit Brian Giles for a 43-yard score with 5:31 remaining. Nathan Haygood’s extra point provided the final score.
Gatlin Cox caught eight passes for 94 yards for the Wildcats. Giles had four catches for 70 yards and a touchdown. Logan Crider hauled in nine catches for 58 yards.
Bradley Jackson led the Wildcat defense with eight tackles.
Sand Rock jumps back into Class 2A, Region 7 action by hosting North Sand Mountain next Friday.