Bulldogs unleashed on Hawks

Published 11:28 pm Friday, September 11, 2015

King’s Fork High School senior slotback Mike Pearson forges ahead for yardage against visiting Hickory High School on Friday night. He contributed an 11-yard touchdown reception to the Bulldogs’ 41-0 victory.

King’s Fork High School senior slotback Mike Pearson forges ahead for yardage against visiting Hickory High School on Friday night. He contributed an 11-yard touchdown reception to the Bulldogs’ 41-0 victory.

Due to a minor injury, King’s Fork High School feature back Deshaun Wethington didn’t get his senior season started until Friday night’s home opener, but once out there, he wasted little time before he started creating plays for the highlight reel.

He got the Bulldogs rolling to a 41-0 win over Hickory High School after touchdown runs of 73 yards and 35 yards on his second and third carries, respectively.

“He was chomping at the bit to get back out there, and he showed it,” King’s Fork coach Joe Jones said.

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Wethington finished the game with 12 carries for 183 yards and two scores.

He led a Bulldogs rushing attack that compiled 337 total yards.

King’s Fork attempted little through the air, but what it did counted for a lot. On one of his five attempts, senior quarterback Ryan Kluck completed an 11-yard pass to senior slotback Mike Pearson for a touchdown to make it 21-0 near the end of the first quarter.

Senior slotback Quadarius Boyd helped push it to 28-0 before halftime on a 55-yard touchdown run.

In the third quarter, Kluck connected with senior wide receiver Terry Tubbs on an 18-yard touchdown pass, and sophomore feature back Darran Butts scored on a three-yard run.

Jones saw improvement in the Bulldogs from their 24-17 season-opening win at Smithfield High School on Aug. 28, noticing crisper execution and better conditioning on Friday night. He also praised his coordinators for their contributions to the latest win.

“I thought we had a good offensive game plan that Shaka (Miller) made up,” he said. “Dave (Waddell) had a great plan defensively.”

King’s Fork gave up only 47 yards on the ground and 10 through the air, recovered three fumbles, grabbed one interception and made a key goal line stand near the end of the game to protect the shutout.

“I thought we played very physical, especially on defense,” Jones said.

Senior Cullen Marshall continued to be a force on the line for the Bulldogs, leading his team with 5.5 tackles and a sack.

King’s Fork (2-0) will visit Indian River High School next Friday night, hoping to turn the tables on the Braves, who handed the Bulldogs one of their two losses during the 2014 regular season.

“That’s going to be a big test,” Jones said. “We’ve got to go over there and play a very good football team.”