Sports

Texas team spanks No. 1 South, 43-0

A trip to Texas turned brutal in a hurry for the top-ranked South Wolverines on Friday.

South, the No. 1 team among Alaska's large-division schools, was trounced 43-0 by the Yellow Jackets of Stephenville, Texas.

Stephenville, playing its first game of the season, opened with a hurry-up offense that put South in an early hole. The Yellow Jackets scored on their first four possessions and advanced the ball with relative ease to subdue South, which lost for the first time in three games.

It was 83 degrees and overcast but humid at kickoff, and the bleachers appeared to be full.

South, which outscored its first two opponents 77-12, was never really in the game. Jarrett Stidham and Kaegun Williams each scored on one-yard runs to help Stephenville to a 14-0 lead after the first quarter, and they made it 22-0 early in the second quarter when Stidham connected with Kaegun Williams on a 62-yard catch-and-run.

By the half, Stephenville led 29-0 and had gained 266 yards to South's 79. The Yellow Jackets finished with 486 yards to South's 135. Justice Agafa led the South offense with 56 yards on 12 carries, and Sam Cook rushed for 28 yards on eight carries.

Stidham, a senior quarterback, threw for 253 yards and rushed for 65, and Williams, a sophomore running back, rushed for 70 yards and caught three passes for 105 yards for the Yellowjackets, a 4A school in a state where the largest schools play in 6A. One preseason poll ranked Stephenville third in the state among 4A schools

South (2-1) resumes play in Alaska next week when it faces Eagle River on Friday at 7 p.m. at Anchorage Football Stadium.

ADVERTISEMENT