War Eagles beat Munroe, 48-7

War Eagle linebacker Brandon Burton scoops up a Bobcat fumble. PHOTOS BY KEN FIELDS


Running back Bradley Kelly had 11 carries for 49 yards.

By CHRIS SAVARY Sports Correspondent

The Wakulla War Eagles returned to Reynolds Field Friday night to take on the Munroe Bobcats from Quincy for the varsity squad’s home opener. The War Eagles came into this game looking to capitalize on the momentum gained from their first two victories all secured on the road against Chiles (21-17) and Balboa (41-0). Munroe arrived for the matchup having lost their first matchup last week against Mobile Christian (31-0). These two squads met last year at Munroe with the War Eagles taking the game 43-13.
After both teams opened drives that stalled the War Eagles opened up the offense, amped up the aggression defensively, and never looked back. The first touchdown of the game came in the 1st quarter with a surprise fake field goal attempt when the War Eagles drive stalled to a fourth and goal at the Munroe 6-yard line. Right before the snap kicker Luis Quintonilla and holder Owen Klees switched positions with Klees taking the direct snap finding Tanner Lanier wide open in the end zone for the first of what would be seven War Eagle touchdowns in this game.
Later in the 1st quarter the War Eagles would get the ball back after Marcus Gardner made a crushing hit on the Munroe quarterback forcing him to fumble the ball. Linebacker Brandon Burton scooped up the forced fumble and returned it to the Munroe 23-yard line. From there the War Eagles scored quickly on a pass from quarterback Haden Klees to receiver Samron Brinson on a one play 22-yard strike. The 1st quarter would end with the War Eagles up 14-0.
The 2nd quarter saw the War Eagles absolutely take over, control and dominate the game. Hayden Klees and Brinson would connect again early in the 2nd on a 46-yard touchdown pass to put the War Eagles up 21-0. After yet another stingy defensive effort the War Eagle offense took advantage scoring again on a 26-yard touchdown pass from Hayden Klees to Brinson putting the War Eagles up on Munroe 28-0 with plenty of time left before the half. The War Eagle offense put two more touchdowns on the scoreboard before halftime. A 28-yard touchdown pass from Hayden Klees to Nehemiah Chandler and a 42-yard touchdown pass from Hayden Klees to Jeremiah Thomas put the War Eagles up 41-0 at the half.
Under FHSAA rules when a team goes up by 35 points or more officials install a running clock for the second half. With the War Eagles starting the second half up by 41 points the hometown team operated the second half with a running clock for the second game in a row. With the matchup in hand, Head Coach Scott Klees elected to use this half to get much-needed snaps for many of the team’s second string players and underclassmen who we will see action out of in the future.
The second half moved very quickly with the clock only stopping for timeouts or official stoppage. The War Eagles continued to play with aggression resulting in numerous defensive stops and tough offensive efforts. Munroe’s lone score in the game came in the fourth quarter with the game in hand. Wakulla added one more score in the fourth as well with a 5-yard touchdown rush from Sion Ransom, his second rushing touchdown in the last two games. The game ended with Wakulla winning 48-7 moving to 3-0 on the season.
After the game Head Coach Scott Klees said, “I’m just so proud of this team right now. We continue to improve each week and that’s what we look for as coaches. All three phases of this team are playing at a high level, the offense is clicking on all cylinders, the defense is lights out playing fast and aggressive and creating turnovers, and the special teams is also hitting the marks and gets better each week.
“We still have a long season ahead of us and the competition only gets tougher from here so we need to remain focused, keep improving and have a desire to do until we reach our goal at the end of the season,” Klees said.
Players of the Week were quarterback Haden Klees as MVP. He completed 16 passes on 21 attempts for 375 yards 5 touchdowns and no interceptions in the first half.
Offensive Player of the Game was Samron Brinson who tallied up 119 yards on 4 receptions and 3 touchdowns including an amazing diving one handed grab in the endzone in the 2nd quarter and that’s after pulling a muscle last week and coming into this game a true game time decision.
Defensive Player of the Game went to Brandon Burton who finished the game with 6 tackles and a big fumble recovery that set up an early score for the War Eagles.
Special Teams Player of the Week went to Owen Klees who piloted a successful fake field goal passing for a touchdown to get the War Eagles on the board early and set the tempo for thew matchup ahead.
Through three contests this War Eagle squad has put up some impressive numbers on both sides of the ball. The offense has passed for 14 touchdowns on 996 yards with no interceptions and rushed for 2 touchdowns on 281 yards. The defense has been dominating only allowing 24 points through three contests (7 points over the last two games combined) and have 9 sacks, 6 interceptions, and 3 fumble recoveries.
The War Eagles are now 3-0 on the season and have a Friday night Florida vs. Georgia matchup taking on Seminole County (1-2) from Donalsonville, Ga.

Wakulla Sun sports photographer Ken Fields got a great sequence of photos of War Eagle receiver Samron Brinson laying out for a touchdown catch against the Munroe Bobcats on Friday night. The War Eagles are 3-0 on the season after defeating the Bobcats 48-7.

COACH'S CORNER

Wakulla Head Football Coach Scott Klees

FROM THE COACH

Scouting report: All Georgia teams are highly disciplined. Seminole County’s offense is a mix of the spread and the old-fashioned single wing.
Keys to victory: How quickly the defense can figure out the Seminoles offense and adjust to it.
Last week: Played very well right from the beginning and went up 42-0 before the half.