WEST POINT – It was a tough night for the West Point Warriors' defense in the home opener as they dropped the second game of the season to Wilson 42-24. Wilson's offense managed to put up 396 yards of offense against the Wilson Warriors including four touchdown plays of 40 yards or more. Wilson's quarterback Tucker Brown scored five touchdowns on the night, passing for 177 yards and two touchdowns to go along with 104 yards on the ground and three more scores.
Wilson's offense broke the game open early on a 41-yard rushing touchdown from Brown followed by a 67-yard touchdown pass on the next possession to wide out Avery Moates who finished the contest with a game-high 127 receiving yards and two touchdowns. After the quick start, West Point was unable to get back within one possession of Wilson for the rest of the night.
West Point's offense started the game slow but was able to put up some points in the second half thanks to three touchdowns from junior quarterback Rylan Jones. Jones completed 17 of his 34 passes for 193 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. The Warriors also managed to gain 150 yards on the ground with junior running backs Hunter Persall and Brayden Martin both finishing with 60 yards. Jones accounted for 28 yards and a touchdown in the running game.
Senior wide out Kolton Easterwood led the way in the passing game with a game-high seven catches for 56 yards. Persall managed to break loose for a 34-yard touchdown on a screen pass in the third quarter, and senior wide receiver Cameron Bates came up with a miraculous 40-yard touchdown on an underhanded lob pass from Jones early in the fourth.
A critical mistake on special teams cost the West Point Warriors seven points just before halftime when they muffed a punt from Wilson that was recovered deep inside West Point territory. Wilson took advantage and scored with 20 seconds remaining in the half to carry an 18-point lead and the momentum into the locker room.
The Warriors were starting to make up some ground in the second half and cut the lead to 35-24 going into the fourth quarter but lost a fumble in Wilson territory with eight minutes left to play to seal the game for Wilson. Two possessions later, Wilson running back Nick Phillips put the game away with a 45-yard touchdown run with less than three minutes to play.
The loss puts West Point at 1-1 in 2017 as they look to bounce back at home next week against the Hayden Wildcats.
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