Wesleyan routs Holy Innocents'

By TODD CALLAHAN

For the AJC

Behind a precision passing game and a smothering defense, top-ranked Wesleyan kept its winning streak intact at 15 games with a 28-2 victory over Holy Innocents’ on Friday.

The ninth-ranked Golden Bears (2-1) defeated the Wolves 7-6 on Sept. 12, 2008. That was the last time the defending state champion Wolves (3-0) have been on the wrong end of the scoreboard.

“We don’t really get into the ‘rah rah’ stuff,” said Wesleyan coach Franklin Pridgen, whose team has outscored its first three opponents 111-2. “I think that is a mark of a mature, championship-caliber football team.

Sparking the outburst was quarterback Conor Welton and his corps of receivers, who towered over the Holy Innocents’ defensive backs. The Wolves’ spread offense sliced the secondary for 231 yards and three touchdowns.

All three of Welton’s touchdowns came in a pivotal second quarter in which Wesleyan scored 21 points and blew open the game in a span of nine minutes.

Welton, who at one point completed 14 consecutive passes and did not have an incompletion in the second quarter, started by throwing a 7-yard touchdown strike to Harrison Cheeley with 10:05 left in the half for a 14-2 lead.

After a pass from Holy Innocents’ John McKay was intercepted by Brinson Porter, Welton connected with Anderson Porter over the middle. The senior wide out galloped the rest of the way for a 56-yard touchdown. Anderson Porter finished with three receptions for 84 yards.

Leading 21-2, Wesleyan, which held the Golden Bears to four first downs in the first half and 84 yards of total offense, forced another punt.

Welton, who was 19-for-23 and completed passes to eight different receivers, led the Wolves on a five-play, 64-yard drive. All the yards came on five passes, culminating with a 26-yard touchdown pass to Cheeley for a 28-2 lead heading into halftime. Cheeley finished with a team-high five catches for 89 yards and two touchdowns.

“Conor is a returning senior,” Pridgen said. “He is an all-state player who led us to a state championship last year. That is exactly the way I expected him to play football.”