Sandy Creek senior running back Eric Swinney ran for 145 yards after halftime and helped the No. 2 Patriots outlast No. 9 Whitewater 30-14 in a Region 5-AAAA matchup Friday night.
Defensive back Josh Greene picked off Whitewater quarterback Jay Ashley with two minutes left to seal the homecoming win for Sandy Creek (6-0, 1-0 in Region 5-AAAA) and extend the school’s region win streak to 43 games. Austin Vazquez added a 17-yard touchdown late to secure the win.
The Wildcat defense held Swinney, who had averaged 144 yards rushing through five games, to 27 yards on 13 carries in the first half. He finished with 172 yards on 24 carries and three touchdowns.
“It’s just kind of the way they go,” Sandy Creek coach Chip Walker said. “We made some adjustments at halftime and ended up getting him loose. He’s such a great running back, he doesn’t need much. They really had us bottled up in the first half.”
Whitewater running back Christian Wafford (20 rushes, 141 yards) broke through the Patriots’ defense for a 66-yard touchdown run to give the Wildcats a 7-0 lead with 10:20 to play in the first quarter. Sandy Creek tied the game at 7 when ESwinney scored on a 2-yard run to end a 10-play, 60-yard scoring drive with 5:40 left.
Whitewater (4-2, 0-1) failed to go ahead in the second quarter after a short punt put the offense inside Patriots territory. Behind 20 rushing yards from Wafford, Whitewater moved the ball inside the Sandy Creek 5-yard line before Liam Voigt missed a short field goal.
Sandy Creek went ahead early in the third quarter behind Swinney, who scored on a 60-yard run. Facing 3rd-and-1 from the 40, Swinney took a handoff from quarterback Trey Walker and was immediately stopped before spinning to his left and going up the sideline for the score. Swinney put the Patriots up 20-7 on the next drive, carrying the ball four times for 39 yards and scoring on a 13-yard run with 5:19 to play.
Whitewater pulled within 20-14 late in the third quarter when Ashley closed a 72-yard drive with a sprint from 11 yards out. Ashley finished the game 13-of-24 passing for 113 yards and 63 yards rushing on 9 runs.
Whitewater 7 0 7 0 14
Sandy Creek 7 0 13 10 30
W – Christian Wafford 66 run (Liam Voigt kick)
S – Eric Swinney 2 run (Arnon Spaniol kick)
S – Swinney 60 run (kick failed)
S – Swinney 13 run (Spaniol kick)
W – Jay Ashley 11 run (Voigt kick)
S – Spaniol 34 FG
S – Austin Vazquez 17 run (Spaniol kick)
