Timberland wins opener in blowout | Sports | Berkeley Independent

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Timberland wins opener in blowout

Published Tuesday, August 25, 2009 11:00 AM

By Dan Brown
Berkeley Independent

Dan Brown/Independent

Danny Moultrie (25) directs defense during Timberland’s 14-0 win at the Sertoma Classic.

Who said the Timberland Wolves would miss the class of 2009?

Pouring on 27 first quarter points and taking a 34-0 lead into the locker room at the half, Timberland picked up in 2009 where it off in 2008, blowing out the Carolina Forest Panthers 53-7 in the season opener last Saturday night.

The game was played 48 hours after THS posted an impressive 14-0 Sertoma victory over Baptist Hill.

“We knew if we played well we thought we would be okay,” said head coach Art Craig. “The game got out of hand for them early. We scored on the second play of the game and had a 27-0 lead before the first quarter was over.”

The first half proved to be a series of big plays for the Wolves, who scored twice on defense in the away contest.

The Panthers appeared to self-destruct with the opening kickoff. Laron Milford picked off a pass on the third play from scrimmage and returned it 22 yards for the game’s first score.

“Laron Milford, lines up at defensive end, drops back into coverage and picks off a swing pass and returns it for a score,” Craig said. “Two plays later Cody throws a touchdown pass.”

Craig completed his only pass of the night, a 50-yard scoring strike to Brandon Jiles, out of six attempts. Byron Mayes added the two-point conversion and the Wolves were up 14-0 before most of the fans could find their seats.

“We came into the game with the mindset that we wanted Cody to throw the ball,” Craig said. “But we get the ball back and on the first play, Laron breaks off a 47-run down to the 10-yard line.”

One play later Danny Moultrie scored the first of three touchdowns on the night, a 12-yard run. On the ensuing Carolina Forest possession, Timberland returned a second interception returned for a touchdown, this one a 17-yard dash by Damien Williams.

The Wolves added another scored in the second quarter, Moultrie’s second TD, an identical 12-yard scamper to make the score 34-0 at the intermission.

“When you’re up 34-0 at the half, there’s not much you can do after that,” Craig said. “We started pulling our starters early in the third quarter and finished the night playing our second team and freshmen.”

R.J. Jefferson opened the second half by returning the kickoff 73 yards to the Panther six-yard line, followed shortly thereafter by Milford’s second TD, this one a six-yard carry. Moultrie’s third score, another six-yard run made the score 47-0.

“Our defense stopped them all night,” Craig said. “We had them shut out until late in the fourth quarter. We were very prepared for what they planned to do.

“This was a good first win for these guys to get.”

Both teams added fourth quarter scores, the Wolves’ coming on a 32-yard run by DeAndre Pressley.

Despite the 53 points and more than 300 yards of total offense, no one player stood out with glaring numbers.

“This was a weird game,” Craig said. “We didn’t get much of an opportunity to set up our offense. We scored 34 points in the first half and only ran 18 offensive plays.”

Craig completed just one pass in six attempts for 50 yards and a touchdown, and Moultrie rushed seven times for 49 yards and three scores to lead the Timberland attack.

The Wolves host Woodland on Friday and Craig knows his team will have to be prepared for what the Wolverines bring to the table.

“Woodland has overall the best athlete in the state at quarterback in Robert Smith,” Craig said. “You have to be ready for everything with Woodland. They will throw any formation out there on the field at any time of the game under any situation. We’ll have to score our points and keep them off the field if we expect to win.”

Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m.

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