Prep football: Woods Cross overpowers Judge

Friday's clash between Judge Memorial and Woods Cross started with a bang.

A pair of bangs, in fact.

In the long run, the visiting team had more ammunition. The Woods Cross defensive front was effective to the point that the Bulldogs appeared mostly to be shooting blanks the rest of the way in a 41-14 victory by Woods Cross.

"Our interior six on our defense is pretty good," Woods Cross coach Justin Spencer said. "They're big, strong kids, and we rely on them heavily to get the job done. We wanted to play them because we wanted to learn how to play against a good option team."

Woods Cross junior linebacker Deion Saumalu started the scoring by scooping up a Bulldogs fumble on the third play from scrimmage and running 27 yards for a touchdown.

The 7-0 lead didn't last long. Judge Memorial senior Mark Barnett found a seam and raced down the sideline for an 88-yard kickoff return to tie the game on the ensuing kickoff.

The Wildcats reclaimed the lead on an 8-yard run by Chandler Judd before the opening period was over, and would score again before halftime on a 13-yard pass from Clay Kidman to Gavin Moore.

Kidman and fellow Woods Cross quarterbacks Luke Jowers and Tanner Hammond all threw a touchdown pass.

An impressive 80-yard touchdown march for the Wildcats to start the third period was highlighted by the receiving of senior Xequille Harry, who finished the game with 76 yards receiving.

The rare offensive highlights for Judge Memorial (0-2) came in the third period when running back Michael Kearns reeled off a rush of 66 yards then capitalized on that by scoring on a 16-yard jaunt to cut the Bulldogs' deficit to 27-14.

Other than that, the night belonged to Woods Cross (2-0).

"We don't have one guy that stands out really, but as a collective group we have a chance to be OK," Spencer said. "They play for each other, and that's what's great, if you think about it."