Wolverines' late game Homecoming heroics not enough to surpass Yellowjackets
Oct 15, 2022 12:00AM ● By By Steven Bryla
The Biggs varsity football team lines up on offense during a 14-8 Homecoming loss to Williams on Friday, October 14 in Biggs. Photo by Seti Long
BIGGS, CA (MPG) - The Biggs Wolverines varsity football team lost a nail biter on Friday to the Williams Yellowjackets, 14-8, in a Mid-Valley League game on Homecoming weekend.
Williams had a 14-point lead after the first quarter and held it until the final minutes of the game. However, Biggs junior quarterback Chase Mclean got the Wolverines on the scoreboard inside three minutes left with a one-yard rushing touchdown.
After a successful two-point conversion by junior running back Zach Smith, Biggs (2-5, 0-2 MVL) needed a stop from its defense. Smith contributed 75 rushing yards on 11 carries and had eight tackles on the night defensively.
The defense gave everything they had against the Yellowjackets and stopped them quickly to get the ball back for the offense after two sacks and a forced fumble.
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Wolverines head coach Brian Harrison told The Herald that his defense shut down the rushing attack of Williams. The Yellowjackets came into the game against Biggs averaging almost 178 yards on the ground. The Wolverines defense allowed only 26 rushing yards on Friday night.
“We shut them down in the box completely,” Harrison said.
Biggs had the ball inside the Williams 30-yard line with under 30 seconds left in the game. Harrison told The Herald that the plan was to use the quick passing attack to get the ball out of bounds quickly to stop the clock. He added there were multiple penalties thrown within this final possession that added to the anticipation for the final play of the game.
The Wolverines had one final play untimed due to a penalty on the Yellowjackets. Mclean’s pass was picked off in the end zone and Williams secured the victory.
Mclean ended the night with eight completions for 65 passing yards and 20 yards on the ground off five carries.
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Harrison told The Herald that he wants to put more points on the board.
“Something is broken, and I need to fix it,” Harrison proclaimed.
He added with his offense averaging less than 10 points a contest, things offensively need a change. Harrison explained that he doesn’t know where the changes offensively would come from and it’s something he is looking to change in the last couple weeks of the season.
Biggs will travel and play Hamilton (6-1, 2-0 MVL) this Friday. The Braves have a balanced pass and run attack similar to Williams. The Wolverines will have to stop an offense that averages 37 points per game.
“We have to execute and be more consistent,” Harrison said.