Woodrow Wilson looking for revenge against Knights

Woodrow Wilson looking for revenge against Knights

By Randall Jett
Register-Herald Sports Writer
Coming off a 33-14 victory over Greenbrier East in its home opener, Woodrow Wilson is looking to make it two in a row when it hosts Class AAA No. 16 Cabell Midland (2-2) Friday night at Van Meter Stadium in Beckley.

The Flying Eagles are coming in on a high note and have the added incentive of revenge on the Knights, who knocked Woodrow (1-3) out of the playoffs last year with a 38-35 first-round win.

But Woodrow coach John H. Lilly doesn’t think that will factor into the game as much as people might think.

“You’ve got 26 people that were on that team that’s no longer on that team, so I’m not sure that the revenge factor is anything,” he said. “I think after the first three minutes of the game, nobody is going to be thinking about that. What we need to do is go out and execute and do some of the things that we did last week and then do a couple of things better.”

Lilly believes both teams have a lot to play for after disappointing starts to the 2006 season.

“I don’t think either team this time of year was expecting to be where we we’re at, both them and us,” he said. “I think it’s going to be a very close game and a hard-fought game.”

Six-foot-2, 212-pound running back Christian Edwards gave the Eagles fits last season and stopping him is the Eagles’ No. 1 priority.

To do that, Woodrow has to win the battle in the trenches.

“They are always going to be good,” Lilly said. “They’re a big school and have a lot of community support. They’re going to come down with a lot of people and it’s going to be a big game for them, just like it’s a big game for us. They’ve got a solid senior offensive line just like we do. I think it’s the best offensive line we face this year and it’s going to be a huge challenge for us.”

Last Friday, the Eagles line took control of the game, springing Marquel Ali and Josh Pryor, who both rushed for more than 100 yards, revitalizing Lilly’s offense.

“I think the offensive line played well together,” he said. “They played the way we’ve been expecting them to play all along. We said coming into the season that they were the strength of our football team. Friday night, I think they showcased that a little bit, but one game doesn’t make a season. We’re going to have to make sure that we can put it back-to-back. That’s what we need to do.”

Ali gained 169 yards and scored a pair of TDs, while Pryor added 135 yards and two scores on the ground.

The key, though, Lilly stated, was the revamped Eagles’ defense.

I think our defense played much better,” he said. “We had seven new people out there on defense last week than the previous three weeks. I thought they stepped up to the table and played a pretty good football game.”

Lilly believes too many people have been focusing on the Eagles’ offensive unit while the defense has been the problem.

“Our problem was not offensively,” he said. “Our problem was defensively.”

Two new faces, sophomores Ryan Stafford and Johnny Ray Williams, got plugged into linebacking positions for Woodrow and paid dividends. Brandon Williams manned the other linebacker position until an injury sidelined him, putting sophomore Lanny Meadows on the field as well.

“We played with three sophomore linebackers,” Lilly said. “It was their first start at those positions. They weren’t perfect, but they were making some plays and making some tackles. I think they did a pretty good job for us.”

Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. Friday.