Defensive linemen Azuka Akozar wraps up Pearce quarterback Mac Morse,
who felt the pressure all night. Morse threw three picks amid a slew
of Mustang mishaps.
Wylie wins battle on both sides of ball
By Shiela K. Haynes
The Pirates defense dismembered the highly-touted Pearce offense in a 42-12 rout. Wylie out-executed the opponent on both sides of the ball.
Wylie hosts McKinney North for the Nov. 5 regular season finale.
The Pirates had enough defensive highlights in this single game to fill a season.
In the first quarter, Pearce put together a couple of promising drives, but a fumble at the Wylie 15 and an interception at the Wylie 20 killed both. Andre Moseley recovered the fumble and Tyler Mathers had the pick.
Their third drive ended in a partially blocked punt courtesy of Josh Scarlett.
After the Mustangs scored on a 24-yard pass play, Noble Nwachukwu blocked the point-after attempt.
On Pearce’s last possession of the half, they turned it over on downs at the Wylie 5.
In between Pearce miscues, Wylie scored four touchdowns in the first half and only punted once.
Vincent Bryan scored on a 3-yard run to open the contest. Jermaine Merdock scored on passes of 22 and 72 yards wrapped around quarterback Nico Ramirez’s perfect strke to Logan Holster that went for 24 yards.
Wylie led 28-6 at halftime.
Things only got better for the Pirates. Tyler Rice recovered Wylie’s onside kick to start the second half thereby denying Pearce an opportunity from the get-go.
Seven plays later, Merdock was in the end zone again with a 4-yard run.
The Pearce quarterback threw two more interceptions in the second half, one to Beau Cobb near midfield and another to Andre Moseley at the Wylie 2 on a deep ball attempt.
The Mustangs scored on a 19-yard pass early in the fourth quarter, but the pass failed.
In other district action, Wylie East succumbed to McKinney 47-29. Highland Park drilled Rockwall Heath 49-21 and Rockwall outlasted McKinney North with a last-minute field goal to win 16-14.
With six teams still vying for a postseason appearance, there’s a little business left to do before the regular season expires Nov. 5.
Get full coverage of Pirates and Raiders football and have a look at the various playoff scenarios in this week’s edition of The Wylie News.
