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War Eagles 5-0 with Shutout at Gleason

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GLEASON (September 14) — The West Carroll War Eagles finished a four-game road trip with a dominant 47-0 win over the Gleason Bulldogs Friday. Despite playing just once at home, the War Eagles are undefeated at the midway point of the season and find themselves in the driver’s seat in Region 7A with a 3-0 record.
West Carroll won the coin toss and elected to receive the opening kickoff. War Eagle Garrett Brooks dove on a low kick at the 40. Jarrius Weatherford carried on first down for six yards, then broke loose for a touchdown on the next play. A penalty for holding negated the score and made it second-and-nine. P.J. Odom ran for eight, then quarterback Trace Fuller kept for a pair to move the chains. Fuller kept again and ran to the outside for 33, forced out of bounds by Bulldog Dawson Arnold. Weatherford gained seven, then Jeremiah Bryant kept a direct snap for two yards. On third-and-one from the six, Weatherford cut a path up the middle for a touchdown. Devin Nash kicked the extra point, and West Carroll led 7-0 with just over nine minutes remaining in the opening frame.
Arnold received the ensuing kick near the 20 and made a good return to midfield, but a holding penalty set Gleason back to the 18. Arnold ran for four, then quarterback Kolton Crochet kept for a pair. On third down, Crochet threw to Bryce Akers for a first down. Two plays later, Crochet’s throw was picked off by War Eagle Luke Blankenship, who ran it back several yards before Crochet made the tackle himself.
Starting at the Bulldog 18, Weatherford ran for a yard, then caught a short pass from Fuller and took it for a 17-yard touchdown. Nash’s PAT gave the War Eagles a 14-0 advantage with six minutes to go in the first.
Gleason started the next drive at the Bulldog 37. Crochet kept for no gain, threw incomplete, then had his pass tipped and intercepted by War Eagle Kyler White. White returned the pick about 20 yards before Noah Anderson made the tackle.
Taking over at the 18 again, Bryant threw across the backfield to Weatherford, who took it to paydirt. The kick was good, and West Carroll led 21-0 with five to play in the first.
Arnold returned the kickoff to the Gleason 35. Crochet scrambled on first down and was sacked by Brooks. The quarterback scrambled again on second down, but Brooks and Armoni Bonds converged and knocked the ball loose. Bonds scooped it up for the turnover.
The War Eagles took over at the 17. Fuller threw to Zach Perry for eight yards, then again for another eight as Perry fumbled the ball out of bounds at the 1. Fuller kept for a touchdown, but a false start was called. Back at the 6, Fuller scrambled and was sacked for a loss of two by Arnold. Odom then ran for the eight-yard touchdown. Nash kicked, and the lead was 28-0 with 2:36 left in the first.
Gleason started at the 30, but quickly went three-and-out. The punt was downed at the Bulldog 36.
Weatherford ran for 4, then Bryant threw incomplete. On third down, Bryant ran 33 yards for the score. Nash made it five-for-five on PATs, and West Carroll led 35-0 with 13 seconds remaining in the opening frame.

Bulldog Elijah Young caught a low kick and returned it to the Gleason 40. Jamison Lifsey was stopped for a loss by Jack Barrow, and the first quarter ended. Lifsey ran again to start the second, stopped at the line by Jacob Blankenship. West Carroll jumped offside to move the ball to the 42, then Crochet had the ball stripped by Dakota Saunders. War Eagle Jessie Mounts picked up the fumble and returned it to the 14.
Fuller momentarily lost the ball, but recovered it and dove forward for a short gain. Next, Nash powered through the Bulldog defense for a 13-yard touchdown. After a false start, Nash missed the extra point, and West Carroll led 41-0 with 10:37 to play in the first half.
The ensuing kick was headed out of bounds, which would have given Gleason excellent field position, but War Eagle Shae Crocker rushed in and dove on the ball before it crossed the line to give West Carroll possession at the Bulldog 32.
Devon Rader pushed the pile forward for extra yards and a gain of 18, then Fuller tossed to Barrow for a gain of two. Fuller was forced to scramble on second down, but managed a short gain. Crocker then took it ten yards, lunging into the end zone, but being ruled down at the 1. Rader pushed through for the touchdown on the next play. Nash missed the kick, and West Carroll led 47-0 with just over eight minutes left in the second quarter.
Gleason started at the 34 and took advantage of a West Carroll penalty on third-and-short. Lifsey pounded the ball three times for another first down, moving into War Eagle territory for the first time in the contest. It was soon third-and-long, but Arnold carried for 20 yards and a fresh set of downs at the 26. Two plays later, a penalty made it third-and-ten, but Arnold evaded defenders to gain nine yards. The War Eagle defense pushed the pile back on fourth-and-one for a turnover on downs.
West Carroll ran two plays before the half ended.
With eight minute quarters and a running clock, Gleason received the second-half kick. The Bulldogs kept it mostly on the ground for a sustained drive that included four first downs and spanned the entire third quarter.
The first play of the final frame was fourth-and-four for Gleason, and Arnold gained just a yard.
Taking over at their own 16, the War Eagles earned a first down on two carries by Rader and a keeper by quarterback Dylan Cox. Rader ran for another first, then gained five. Cox kept, but the War Eagles were flagged for holding. Two plays later, Rader ran for 29 and West Carroll ran out the clock on the 47-0 victory.
The War Eagles return home Friday to host Gibson County in a non-region contest. The Bulldogs will travel to Hollow Rock-Bruceton, also a non-region bout. Both games kick off at 7 p.m.

War Eagles, Gleason, Shutout