Wolves’ win is no sweat
Basic coach Jeff Cahill sent his players onto the field Friday at Coronado expecting a game that could be decided in the final minute.
Things didn’t go quite as Cahill expected.
Instead, the Wolves took advantage of countless mistakes by the Cougars and rolled to a 46-8 road victory.
Charles Phillips rushed for 101 yards and two touchdowns on eight carries to lead Basic, which improved to 3-1, 1-0 in the Southeast Division.
“This win was huge for us,” Cahill said. “It’s a game we’ve been talking about since January when the schedule came out.”
The Wolves’ defense appeared outmatched early as Coronado opened with a 17-play, 67-yard drive. But the Cougars (2-2, 0-1) failed to score, turning the ball over on downs at the Basic 10.
“We got that stop, and it really turned momentum in our favor,” Cahill said. “It was especially big for our defense not to let them score.”
Basic, which did not log a first down — or need one — until midway through the second quarter, got its first break by blocking a Coronado punt late in the first. Martell Walker scored on a 1-yard plunge seconds later to give the Wolves a 7-0 lead.
Basic added 13 points off Coronado turnovers within the next two minutes, scoring on a 78-yard sprint by Charles Phillips and a 17-yard run by Anthany Lessier to make it 20-0 with 10:27 left in the half.
“When we got up 20-0, we started to see the air let out of (Coronado),” Cahill said. “They just never seemed to recover.”
The Cougars, who had four turnovers and nine penalties, made critical mistakes each time it appeared they might rally.
The Wolves kept attacking, making it 26-0 on a 5-yard pass from Robby Faiman to Justin Burdno just before halftime.
Second-half runs by Phillips and Edward Villaros, and a 17-yard pass from Faiman to Jeff Pozdol complete the rout.
Marcus Garcia, who rushed for 77 yards on 12 carries, got Coronado on the board with a 3-yard run late in the fourth quarter.