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Washington Evening Journal
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Wolves mop Mohawks in Round of 16
Top-ranked Winfield-Mount Union football team 1 win away from the Dome
WINFIELD — A shaky first couple of drives for the top-ranked Winfield-Mount Union football team didn’t rattle the Wolves’ confidence on Friday night.
After allowing an early touchdown in the Round of 16 playoff game against Moravia, the Wolves buckled down and did what they’ve been doing all year. WMU controlled the rest of the game on every side of the ball, leading to a 34-6 win.
“It just took a lot of guts,” said Wolves senior Carter Loyd. “We know what we're made of.”
The early test came after quarterback Jake Edwards was picked off on the first play from scrimmage, just his third interception of the entire season. Moravia used the short field to score first, and the Wolves faced a rare 6-0 deficit.
On the next possession, the Wolves went to senior star Cam Buffington, and the Mohawk defense soon realized it had quite the problem on its hands. Buffington past, through and around the Moravia defense all drive long, leading to a 13-yard touchdown run, and a tie game.
“He's a really special athlete,” said WMU head coach Scott McCarty. “When it's 3rd-and-8 and you can run it off tackle, that's a nice tool to have.”
Moravia bobbled the ensuing kick off, and who else but Lane Genkinger came up with the loose ball. It was Genkinger’s fourth take-away in two playoff games, and the Wolves had the ball.
“I guess I was just at the right place at the right time,” Genkinger said. “The coaches are loving it, so I'm just going to keep building on it.”
Buffington scored on an 18-yard touchdown run a couple of plays later. He would score four times in the first half, as the Wolves continued to pound away on the ground.
WMU led the game 12-6 after one quarter and 26-6 at halftime.
Buffington ran the ball 15 times for 150 yards and four scores. Cole Milks collected 24 yards on the ground and 32 through the air, and Abram Edwards had 32 receiving yards, including a second-half touchdown.
As the game went on, the WMU defense just kept getting better and better. Abram Edwards lived in the backfield, collecting 8.5 tackles including two sacks. Kael Johnson had 5.5 tackles. Cam Buffington finished with four tackles, and Cooper Buffington had three.
“To hold a team that scores like that to six points is one of the best defensive things we've done this year,” McCarty said.
WMU is now 10-0. In the quarterfinals, the Wolves will take on No. 8 Don Bosco (9-1) after the Dons rallied to beat No. 10 WACO on Friday night.
Due to both teams going unbeaten in district play and Don Bosco appearing first alphabetically, Thursday’s Class 8-Player quarterfinal will take place at Don Bosco, meaning football in Winfield has come to an end for the 2023 season.
“I just want to say thank you Winfield for everything,” said Loyd, one of many seniors who played their final home game. “It means a lot to me to see everyone here to support us.”
