Highlanders stymie Coyotes, 49-14

Photo by Jeff Goolsbey / Times Record News

Wichita Falls High School defenders Louis Wilson (22) and Daulton Davidson tackle Lawton MacArthur ball carrier Dylan Warner during the first half Thursday night at Memorial Stadium.

Photo by Jeff Goolsbey / Times Record News

Wichita Falls High School quarterback Dylan Sheffield finds receiver Diondre Singleton for a touchdown pass in the first half Thursday night against Lawton MacArthur at Memorial Stadium.

Lawton MacArthur obviously watched film of Wichita Falls High School’s scoring parade from last week. They saw everyone chasing and no one catching Devontay Chaffin and his teammates.

And the Highlanders saw Dylan Sheffield throwing in rhythm all night.

MacArthur’s answer on Thursday night was to take the challenge, kick the ball deep, play tight coverage on screen passes and get in Sheffield’s face.

The Coyotes once again struck early with a long touchdown — 76 yards from Sheffield to Diondre Singleton — but the Highlanders didn’t flinch. They had a commanding 28-14 lead at halftime and scored three times in the first 7½ minutes of the third quarter to claim a 49-14 victory in a game at Memorial Stadium called with 4:13 left in the third quarter because of lightning.

MacArthur (1-0) rushed for 228 yards with a punishing offense and picked off Sheffield three times, including a return for a touchdown by Seth John.

And the special teams’ game — which usually belongs to the Coyotes — was all MacArthur, too. The Highlanders’ Derek Block stayed true to his name and blocked and recovered a punt for a touchdown.

And the Coyotes average starting position on their first eight possessions was their own 18-yard line. MacArthur had the wind in the first quarter and kicker Daniel Schwarz booted the ball into the end zone. And when the Highlanders had to make a tackle on Chaffin or Chance Garey, who scored last week, they got a lot of people to the ball and made the stop.

“The first quarter was tough on us, with a special teams error on the blocked punt,” WFHS coach Jayson Lavender said. “We usually capitalize on special teams.

“We shot ourselves in the foot. You can’t turn the ball over and win football games.”

Lavender also gave the MacArthur coaches credit for a good defensive scheme and the Highlander athletes for their execution of it. The Mac secondary did more than hold its own, forcing Sheffield to hold the ball longer than when he went 29-of-37 for six TDs a week ago.

“They had a man pressing Devontay and another man over the top,” Lavender said. “They did a good job.

“That’s a really good football team and a team that will give a lot of people fits. They were playing aggressive. We have to be consistent and be able to adapt and adjust.”

Sheffield was sacked twice in the first half and the completions didn’t come as easily with MacArthur playing tight to stop the screen game. Junior safety Jacob Warner made several good defensive plays, including a deflection that caused Sheffield’s first interception of the season by Austin Payne.

Early on, the Coyote quarterback made MacArthur pay for its tight man coverage as the line blocked long enough for him to check left, then right and come back to the middle for Diondre Singleton, who broke away from single coverage for a 76-yard touchdown.

On the first play of the second quarter, Sheffield hit Chaffin with a deep ball for an 82-yard touchdown, cutting MacArthur’s lead to 21-14.

But 158 of the Coyotes’ 203 yards in the first half came on those two plays.

MacArthur meanwhile used the legs of Darius Graham (64 yards, two touchdowns) and T.J. Turner (64 yards, one TD) to move the ball up and down the field. And quarterback Dylan Warner was efficient throwing short also on option plays. He finished 11-of-14 passing for 77 yards and also rushed for 19 yards.

Sheffield was 11-of-27 for 201 yards and three interceptions. He has eight touchdown passes in two games this year.

Daulton Davidson seemed to be everywhere in the Coyotes’ secondary and made several stops that prevented touchdowns or at least forced Mac to snap the ball a few more times before scoring. Gus Simpson also delivered a couple of big hits. Montrail McNeely had a sack and strip on one play in the second quarter and earlier he recovered a fumble at the WFHS 5-yard line, preventing a Highlander TD.

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Lawton Mac 49, WFHS 14

Lawton Mac 21 7 21 0—49

WFHS 7 7 0 0—14

First Quarter

WFHS— Diondre Singelton 76 pass from Dylan Sheffield (Jared Martinez kick) 9:02

MacArthur— Darius Graham 1 run (kick failed) 5:15

MacArthur— T.J. Turner 45 run (Dylan Warner run ) 2:23

MacArthur— Derek Block recovered blocked punt in end zone (Daniel Schwarz kick) 0:09

Second Quarter

WFHS — Devontay Chaffin 82 pass from Sheffield (Martinez kick) 11:51

MacArthur— Warner 3 run (Schwarz kick) 8:40

Third Quarter

MacArthur— Graham 2 run (Schwarz kick) 8:17

MacArthur— Seth John 28 interception return (Schwarz kick) 8:00

MacArthur— Morris Dale 2 run (Schwarz kick) 4:32

Mac WFHS

First downs 16 7

Rushes-yards 37-228 10-6

Passing 77 201

Comp-Att-Int 11-14-0 11-27-3

Punts 2-33.5 5-28.4

Fumbles-Lost 3-2 1-1

Penalties-Yards 5-50 1-2

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — (LM) Morris Dale 13-42; T.J. Turner 5-64; Darius Graham 11-64; Dylan Warner 5-19; Aaron Finley 3-39; (WF) Devontay Chaffin 1-5; Dylan Sheffield 3-1; D Hickerson 5-0; Jared Martinez 1-(-7).

PASSING — (LM) Dylan Warner 11-14-0, 77; (WF) Sheffield 11-27-3, 201 yards.

RECEIVING — (M) Aaron Finley 3-26; Dale 1-5; Graham 1-8; Nate Miller 1-5; Turner 3-17; Chris Scott 2-20; (WF) Hickerson 4-3; Singleton 3-93; Chaffin 1-82; Bubba Mathis 2-10; Austin Murphy 1-13.

RECORDS — Lawton MacArthur 1-0; WFHS 1-1.