SANDY CREEK 24, WHITEWATER 14: Patriots defense shines in second half

Sandy Creek quarterback Rio Johnson showed Friday night why many consider him to be the best quarterback in the state. But the Patriots defense was the difference, pitching a shutout against Whitewater’s offense in the second half on the way to a 24-14 victory in front of a homecoming crowd at The Battlefield in Tyrone.

“Our defense really stepped up and played well,” said Sandy Creek coach Chip Walker. “Especially in the second half.”

With the score tied at 14 at intermission, Patriots senior James Hervey said he and fellow defensive line mates Brandon Putnam, Lacy Coleman and Alex Green decided to take over in the second half.

Sandy Creek (5-0, 1-0), ranked No. 5 in Class AAAA, held Whitewater to three first downs and less than 100 yards total offense in the second half.

“We knew we needed to play with more quickness and get some penetration,” Hervey said. Hervey said he wanted to send a message to Whitewater quarterback Chase Penland. The senior had operated the Wildcats’ option offense deftly in the first half, and kept Sandy Creek’s defense off balance.

“I knew that if we could get some penetration and start hitting him in the second half, he wouldn’t want to run the ball anymore,” Hervey said. “And that’s what we did.”

On the offensive end, Johnson did his thing, too.

With Whitewater ahead 14-6, late in the second quarter, Johnson threw a pass that traveled 60 yards in the air and fell perfectly into the arms of junior wide receiver Jarrett Davis for an 83-yard touchdown. Johnson’s conversion pass to Alex Chisum tied the score at 14 at the half.

Then on Sandy Creek’s first possession of the second half, after a three-and-out by the Whitewater offense, Johnson hooked up with Davis again, this time on a 61-yard touchdown pass, to put the Patriots ahead for good.

Davis, a junior, said he and fellow receivers Devon Hughes, a junior, and Alex Chisum, a sophomore, learned a lot from former teammate Braxton Lane, a senior who decided to skip football this season to concentrate on baseball.