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Wilmington Rolls Past Mercer

Tagged under: District 10, Gameday Hub, News, pfn

| September 9, 2023

New Wilmington – Wilmington built a 34-6 halftime lead and cruised past Mercer 48-14 Saturday night at Greyhound Stadium.

“The boys did a great job tonight,” said Wilmington head coach Brandon Phillian. “Mercer came ready to play, and is sound is what they do. They showed us a different defense tonight. I was proud of the way the boys were able to adapt. I thought the guys played physical tonight on both sides of the ball. I’m excited to come out and get the win.”

The ‘Hounds rushed for 266 yards, led by Ben Miller, who had a game-high 110 yards on 12 carries while scoring three rushing touchdowns.

“It starts up front with our offensive line,” Phillian said. “They understand the schematics about how to run this offense and pay attention to the details. Our backs ran hard, as they’ve done all season long, and tonight was no exception. The offensive line gave our guys room to run, and they ran hard. I was proud of our offensive execution.” 

Wilmington jumped out 14-0 on their first two possessions as Ben Miller scored on runs of two and 21 yards following drives of 40 and 46 yards set up by their defense, forcing two consecutive three-and-outs.

The “Hounds Hammer” got the scoreboard when Buddah Book returned an interception 30 yards for a touchdown with six ticks left on the first quarter clock.

“The defense played well tonight,” said Phillian. “Outside of one drive, I thought we were very soild and sound. That was a great play by Buddah, especially with the wherewithal to reverse field and score.”

Book rushed for 64 yards on five carries and completed Wilmington’s lone pass attempt of the game to Jamie Miller for 31 yards.

Neither team attempted a pass in the second half.

Mercer then went on their best drive of the night, marching 67 yards in nine plays, scoring on Parker Puskar’s 2-yard run at the midway point of the second quarter.

 

Any momentum the Mustangs may have had quickly went abroad when Ben Miller returned the ensuing kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown. 

“Ben was huge for us tonight,” Phillian said. Not just offensively but also with that kickoff return. I thought we played well in all three phases.”

Late in the first half – the ‘Hounds took advantage of a short field thanks to a 10-yard punt that led to Jamie Miller’s 10-yard run.

Wilmington then put the mercy rule into effect after receiving the second-half kickoff, driving 51 yards in ten plays, capped with Ben Miller’s 10-yard run.

Succeeding a Mercer fumble at their 38-yard line, Chase Mitcheltree scored on a 1-yard run four plays later, pushing the lead to 48-6. 

Mitcheltree added 63 yards rushing on 11 carries.  

The Mustangs would get one back late in the third quarter, as both teams had their junior varsity players in the game. 

Bradie James scored on a 4-yard following a 57-yard drive to close the scoring. James led the Mercer with 47 yards on seven carries, Daemyin Mattocks rushed for 26 yards on five attempts, while Carter Addison added 27 yards on five totes. 

Wilmington improves to 2-1 on the season and will host Hickory next Friday night, while Mercer falls to 1-2 and plays host to Saegertown.

“We have great teams coming up on our schedule now,” Phillian concluded. “It’s one game at a time. See at little, see a lot, see a lot, see nothing. So we’re going to focus on one game, and Hickory is an outstanding, well-coached team, so we’re excited about the opportunity to compete.”

Game Highlights:

Wilmington 48 Mercer 14

Score by Quarters

Mercer  – 0 6 8 0 – 14

Wilmington – 21 13 14 0 – 48

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

W – Ben Miller 2 yd run, (James Winters pat), 6:12 – 7-40

W – Ben Miller 21 yd run, (Winters pat), 0:22 – 8-46

W – Buddah Book 30 yd interception return, (Winters pat), 0:06

Second Quarter

M – Parker Puskar 2 yd run, (kick blocked), 6:19 – 9-67

W – Ben Miller 89 yd kickoff return, (kick blocked), 6:01

W – Jamie Miller 10 yd run, (Winters pat), 1:10 – 2-15

Third Quarter

W – Ben Miller 10 yd run, (Winters pat), 7:05 – 10-51

W – Chase Mitcheltree 1 yd run, (Winters pat), 4:20 – 4-38

M – Bradie James 4 yd run, (Asa Davis rush), 1:28 – 5-47

Individual Stats

Rushing: M -Daemyin Mattocks 5-26, Puskar 8-15, Alex Leftheris 5-5, Carter Addison 5-26, James 7-47, Davis 3-17, Rider Chiapinni 4-(-2), Team 1-(-6).. Totals: 38-128. W – Ben Miller 12-110, Chase Mitcheltree 11-63, Jamie Miller 5-29, Book 5-64, Gino Gealy 1-4, Ashton Reader 1-1 Wesley Vass-gal 3-(-5). Totals: 38-266.

Receiving: M – Mattocks 1-11, Ben Godfrey 1-3. W – Jamie Miller 1-31.

Passing: M – Chiapinni 2-for-3, 14 yards, 1 INT. W – Book 1-for-1, 31 yards.

Interceptions: W – Book.

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