Williamsburg wins big at home

WILLIAMSBURG — Braylon Wetjen showed off his speed, Rayce Heitman added some quickness and the Williamsburg football team made a successful debut as the state’s top ranked Class 3A school, running away from Clear Creek Amana last Friday night at Bob Murphy Stadium, 49-20.

Wetjen used his speed and strength to score each of the Raiders’ first three touchdowns. Two of his scores got Williamsburg out of trouble after CCA had pinned them deep in their own territory.

It was a scoreless game midway through the first quarter when the Clippers downed a punt at the Williamsburg 8-yard line. The end zone was 92 yards away for the Raiders, but in just two plays, they found it.

Nile Sinn ripped off a 27-yard run to the Williamsburg 35, and Wetjen on a sweep left took it to the house, turning on the jets for a 65-yard TD with a bevy of Clippers trying to catch him.

Logan Rethwisch kicked the point after and with 6:32 left in the first quarter the Raiders led 7-0.

Wetjen scored again at the 9:12 mark of the second period, this time showcasing his strength. After a 15-yard face mask penalty moved the ball to the Raider 12-yard line, quarterback Kellen Cockrell rolled out to his left, found Wetjen open at the five-yard line and the 6-foot, 175-pound senior carried three CCA defenders into the end zone for his second TD.

Rethwisch’s PAT kick put the Raiders up, 14-0.

The Clippers answered with a long touchdown drive, capped by Quinton Tran’s 29-yard pass to Jackson Stevens, on fourth-and-12, to cut the Raiders lead in half with 2:29 left before intermission, 14-7.

Williamsburg failed to handle the ensuing kickoff and got pinned down on its own 6-yard line, the momentum apparently swinging toward CCA.

Not for long. On third-and-five, Cockrell faked a handoff to the middle, found Wetjen wide open on a quick hitter across the middle and Wetjen outran all the Clipper defenders chasing him for a 77-yard score.

Rethwisch’s PAT kick made it 21-7.

With 44.6 seconds still left in the first half, the Raiders weren’t done. Williamsburg defensive end Micah Lang sacked Tran, forcing a fumble that teammate Simeon Armbrecht recovered at the CCA 22 with 23 seconds left.

A 12-yard pass from Cockrell to Clayten Steckly took the ball to the Clipper 10, where Cockrell found John Eichhorn open on a slant pass for a touchdown and 28-7 halftime lead.

CCA opened the second half with a 15-yard TD pass from Tran to Stevens, and seemed to have some momentum again, down only 28-13. But Heitman quickly doused that, returning the ensuing kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown, making it 35-13.

A blocked punt set up the Raiders’ next score, a 2-yard run by Sinn, and Grant Hocker’s 33-yard interception return out of his own end zone with CCA threatening to score led to Williamsburg’s final touchdown, a 7-yard pass from Cockrell to Steckly.

Improving their record to 3-0, the Raiders travel to Fort Madison (3-0) this Friday for their final non-district game. Williamsburg opens district play Sept. 22 at home against South Tama.