WAKEFIELD FOOTBALL
For highlights from Wakefield's game against Enloe Friday night, click on the video above.
Enloe erases deficit, then Wakefield
Frustration is loosely defined as a “feeling of dissatisfaction, often accompanied by anxiety or depression, resulting from unfulfilled needs or unresolved problems.”
The Wakefield football team has an alternate definition for this word — Friday night’s game.
This frustration was the result of a 38-10 loss to Enloe ruining both the Wolverines' Homecoming and Senior Night and dropping them to 6-4.
Plus, the defeat almost certainly eliminates any chances at a conference title.
Adding to the discontent for Wakefield was the complete 180 degree flip suffered by the squad's offense. On the first play from scrimmage, junior running back Denzel Brown took a handoff and dashed 73 yards untouched for an easy score just 23 seconds into the game. The extra point by junior Niklas Sade gave Wakefield the early 7-0 lead.
After the promising start Wakefield Coach J.D. Dinwiddie was optimistic, but still cautious about Enloe.
“I knew being up 7-0 wasn’t nearly comfortable enough,” the Wolverine coach said. “I knew it was going to be a dogfight. Coach Clark and his staff do a great job with these kids at Enloe and they are going to play hard and fight hard for four quarters.”
After an Enloe three-and-out, capped by junior Darien Jones' third-down sack, the Wolverines got the ball right back. The mood on the bench for the Wolverines was undoubtedly upbeat.
“We were just thinking we were going to kill them,” Brown explained. “We just thought we were going to keep fighting.”
The Wolverines' next drive stalled, but a fake punt resulting in a 20-yard gain by Terrance Scott gave Wakefield new life. Four plays later, Niklas Sade converted a 28-yard field goal giving Wakefield a 10-0 lead just six minutes.
The Wolverines appeared to be dominating in all aspects of the game.
“We got a little over confident,” said Wakefield QB Patrick Johnstone. “We were really excited about the play early on and we thought it was going to be like that every series but it wasn’t.”
Enloe’s next drive resulted in a 73-yard touchdown run, cutting the Eagles' deficit to three. After a few exchanged possessions, Enloe drove 65 yards, gaining four first downs along the way, and tacked on a game-tying field goal with just 4:41 to go in the first half.
If the contest's momentum hadn't shifted already, the Eagles grabbed it with both hands thanks to a timely play call.
As Enloe began to kick off, the Eagles kicker softly pushed the ball 13 yards, completely fooling the Wolverine special teams. Enloe recovered the ball, and prompted marched 47 yards on its next drive for a touchdown and a 17-10 lead.
Dinwiddie couldn't help by voice his frustration when discussing the onside kick.
“I had just got done telling my front line ‘don’t leave before the ball is kicked,'" he explained. “Of course, we left before the ball is kicked. That summed up the night for me.”
Enloe scored three more touchdowns and Wakefield’s offense, which looked nearly perfect early on, stalled time and again, unable to move the ball.
Brown finished with nine carries for 73 yards — the same total as his first carry.
Johnstone completed four passes for just 19 yards in the loss. In all, the Wolverines accounted for 134 yards of total offense.
Wakefield closes out its regular-season schedule Thursday at Broughton. (The game was originally set for Friday but was recently moved.) Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.
