Waynesboro beats Big Spring, not waits on possible playoff bid

NEWVILLE >> Friday may turn out to be a historic night for the Waynesboro football team.

The Indians took care of business with a 47-14 Mid Penn Colonial Division victory over Big Spring, which gave 'Boro a final regular season record of 6-4 (3-3 MPC).

And that could be enough to capture the No. 16 and final spot in the District 3 Class AAAA playoffs. It may hinge on the result of Saturday's game between Carlisle and Harrisburg. A win for the Herd, currently ranked No. 17, may be enough to nudge the Indians out.

"I'm sure the kids were thinking about (the playoffs), but we just stressed to them that they had to finish the job," Waynesboro coach Steve Myers said. "It was more about getting a win tonight and getting a winning season – that's back-to-back after going a long time without one."

Running back Jake Wertz was the man for the Indians. He carried the ball 25 times for 314 yards and four touchdowns, and also caught a 26-yard pass for a score.

That rushing total put Wertz over 1,000 yards for the season, the only runner or receiver in Franklin County to reach that mark this year.

Myers said, "We've made some changes with our blocking up front the last few games and we've been opening up some big holes. And Jake is running hard."

Over the last two games, Wertz has chalked up 518 yards.

Waynesboro went ahead 13-0 on a pair of Wertz scores, then Wertz and Big Spring's Ryan Adams traded a pair of touchdowns each. Brady Riddell and Jimmy Hoffman also reached the end zone for the Indians.

Adams led the Bulldogs (4-6, 1-5 MPC) with 16 carries for 219 yards. The rest of the team combined for only five additional yards.

Myers said, "We had lots of guys play well tonight, and I thought the defense did a good job."

Waynesboro 47, Big Spring 14

Waynesboro614207—47

Big Spring0770—14

First Quarter

Way — Jake Wertz 17 run (kick failed)

Second Quarter

Way — Wertz 26 pass from Brady Riddell (George Souders kick)

BS — Ryan Adams 2 run (Kenny Blessing kick)

Way — Wertz 1 run (Souders kick)

Third Quarter

Way — Wertz 65 run (kick failed)

BS — Adams 63 run (Blessing kick)

Way — Riddell 1 run (Souders kick)

Way — Wertz 9 run (Souders kick)

Fourth Quarter

Way — Jimmy Hoffman 5 run (Souders kick)

WayBS

First downs288

Rushes-yards54-44830-211

Passing7-16-03-12-0

Passing yards9313

Total yards541224

Punts3-41.66-34.3

Fumbles-lost1-00-0

Penalties-yards6-542-12

Individual statistics

Rushing — Way, Wertz 25-314, Matt Peck 6-44, Mason Frampton 5-39, Aiden Smith 8-20, Dalton Mowen 4-15, Riddell 4-15, Hoffman 2-1. BS, Adams 16-219, Taylor Farlling 6-16, Ethan Lee 8-(-24).

Passing — Way, Riddell 7-16-93-0. BS, Lee 3-10-13-0, Nick Black 0-2-0-0.

Receiving — Way, Peck 4-34, Wertz 1-26, Charlie Patterson 1-23, Cameron Keck 1-10. BS, Garrett Chestnut 2-16, Adams 1-(-3).