White House 40, Sycamore 29 (10/03/08)

White House scored 40 points Friday night in the opening two quarters and built a 33-point halftime lead before Sycamore made a respectable to end to the Blue Devils 40-29 victory on Homecoming night. The win put the Blue Devils at 5-1, 2-0 to remain tied with Station Camp atop Region 4-3A.

DeMarqus Payne rushed for three touchdowns and caught one touchdown pass all in the first half, rushing for 96 yards on nine carries with one reception for seven yards and five tackles and a pass break-up on defense. The senior had a career scoring night as he and teammates were introduced with their parents before the home fans.

“That was a really good first half and our focus was in the right place,” said White House head coach Jeff Porter. “But I was very disappointed in the second half. We have yet to play four solid quarters of football and we had an opportunity tonight and did not do it.

“We have to continue to improve and learn to play a complete football game.”

Payne’s three scores on the ground included a dynamic 64-yard run in the second quarter, and senior fullback Cody Allen was a big blocking aid as well as a force on the ground. Allen rushed six times for 66 yards and set up two touchdowns, the first with a 46-yard rumble on the second play of the game and later an 11-yard push to the one-yard line in the second period.

Bryan Dixon finished the Blue Devils three-play opening drive with a 14-yard touchdown run and Matthew Gossett added the PAT for a 7-0 lead. But just four plays later, the Blue Devils were on the scoreboard again when Cole Elrod blocked a Landon Morris punt which sailed out of the endzone for a safety and 9-0 edge.

Off the free kick, White House moved into scoring position with a 29-yard pass from Trox Greenwade to Chase Neal, and Payne caught the touchdown pass for seven yards and a 16-0 lead.

Allen then recovered a fumble by Sycamore quarterback Jake Simms on the next play and White House took just three more snaps to run the lead to 23-0 in the first quarter on the 2-yard run by Payne.

Sycamore marched six plays and 65 yards to cut the lead as Simms connected with Travis Dempsey for five yards. Simms was 18-of-24 for 233 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.

The teams exchanged punts before Payne busted out for 64 on the first play, then Matt Parker and Chad Neal stopped the Sycamore receiver short of the marker on fourth down to change possession again. The teams again switched punts and White House tacked on the lead to 37-7 with a one-yard plunge by Payne.

After returning a punt earlier for 29 yards, DeMarrius Payne picked off Simms with under a minute to go in the first half and Greenwade rushed for 12 yards to set up a 45-yard field goal by Gossett at the end of the first half to make it 40-7. Gossett kicked the ball through the uprights and near the concession stand for a massive display.

“We saw White House play Beech last week and knew that this was going to be a tough matchup for us,” said Sycamore head coach Gary Halstead. “But through the week as we studied film and prepared, we felt like there were some things we could do to be successful.

“But when you look up and it’s five minutes gone in the second quarter and you’re down 30-7, there’s just not much you can do. We really challenged our kids at halftime to come back out and play for respect and I think we did that.”

In the second half it was all Sycamore. Cory Carrigan led all rushers in the game with 111 yards on 28 carries and scored two touchdowns in the final two periods, and then Simms hit favorite target Tyler Cherry for 49 yards to the endzone in the fourth quarter. The Blue Devils recovered all three onside kick attempts, however, and held on to the lead.

Cherry caught seven balls for 113 yards and Chase Neal had two for 37 for the Blue Devils. Greenwade connected on 5-of-8 passing for 64 yards and a touchdown and interception.

Sycamore held the ball for almost 31 minutes of the game and ate up clock in the second half with drives of 16 and 14 plays. But the Blue Devils needed only 35 plays to run up 267 yards in the contest, despite being outgained with Sycamore’s 363.

The War Eagles were efficient on fourth down with four successful tries in six despite missing on all but 5-of-14 third down conversions.

White House remained perfect in the red zone with four more trips to the endzone in this game, making them 19-of-19 for the season.

The Blue Devils will stay at home to take on Pearl-Cohn and Sycamore will host Greenbrier for Homecoming. Sycamore is fighting for the third and fourth playoff spot, sitting at 3-3 for the year and 1-2 in region play.

“The last two years, we have been sitting here at 0-3 having lost to Station Camp, Pearl-Cohn and White House and win the last three games to get into the playoffs,” said Halstead. “We look at our schedule before the season starts and realize we are going to have to win these last three ball games to get in. The Greenbrier game always seems to be a battle for that spot and Macon County is tough, and I haven’t seen them but DeKalb is certainly playing well.”