Westfield’s deceptive Wing-T offense piled up 501 rushing yards and senior Chandler Duggan found the end zone four times as the Hornets pounded Bulloch Academy 41-0 at Gator Alley Friday night.
Duggan scored on runs of 29, 24 and 5 yards. He also caught a 50-yard touchdown pass from Westfield quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and was the target of a two-point conversion. Younger brother Hugh added a 5-yard scoring plunge in Bulloch’s final regular-season home game.
Westfield (7-1 overall and 3-0 in GISA Region 1-AAA) manhandled the Gators on both sides of the ball. Size, strength and speed were the Hornets’ main weapons. They also put on a clinic in the efficient use of the misdirection offense, keeping the Bulloch players backpedaling most of the night.
The visitors scored twice in each of the first three quarters and threatened to score late in the fourth. The Hornet running backs tore off huge chunks of yardage with 14 of their 39 rushing plays gaining 10 or more yards.
Bulloch (3-5, 0-3) was forced to go three-and-out on its first two possessions in the opening quarter. Westfield, on the other hand, scored twice and opened up a 12-0 lead after the first 12 minutes. The Hornets’ first score — Duggan’s 24-yard blast — came after just three snaps while the second — his 7-yard plunge — took five plays.
In the second quarter, the Hornets took a 20-0 advantage with 10:39 left when Duggan’s 10th-grade brother Hugh got into the act. The Gators seemed to come alive afterward, mounting a 10-play drive and moving the ball from their own 35-yard line to the Westfield 16. But junior quarterback Will Rushing was intercepted to end the threat.
Duggan scored his third TD minutes later on a 29-yard run, giving Westfield a 27-0 lead with 3:27 left in the half.
In the third, Westfield took the opening kickoff and scored on the fourth play — a 50-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Fitzpatrick to Chandler Duggan — for a 34-0 lead.
After the Westfield defense held firm on Bulloch’s next possession, the Hornets took over at their own 25-yard line. Sophomore Josh Jenkins burst through the line on a wingback trap and scampered 72 yards for the Hornets’ final score at the 3:58 mark of the third quarter.
Bulloch got close on its next possession. Junior Andrew Howell broke a 31-yard gainer down to the Westfield 17. But four more plays could only notch another 5 yards against the tough Hornet defense, and the Gators gave the ball up on downs.
The fourth quarter was governed by the GISA mercy rule with a running clock. Still, Westfield’s Jenkins popped a 63-yarder down to the BA 4-yard line with less than a minute to go. But the Hornets mercifully went into the victory formation to run out the clock and end the game.
