Messenger file photo by Chris McCarthy
Rock Sainsbury ran for over 250 yards and scored four touchdowns in West End’s 44-24 victory over Holly Pond in Class 2A, Region 6 action on Friday, Oct. 13.
The Patriots (4-3, 2-2) outgained the Broncos in total yards by a 405 to 210 margin, including a 398 to 184 edge on the ground.
West End took a 14-0 lead after one quarter courtesy of Kane Lawson’s 16-yard touchdown run,
Sainsbury’s 9-yard TD run and Marty Wooten’s two-point conversion pass to Triston Chaney.
Sainsbury (pictured above at left) dashed in from 11 yard out and Jace Golden nailed the PAT with 3:43 left in the second period to provide the Patriots with a 21-0 halftime lead.
After Sawyer Olinger’s one-yard TD run midway through the third quarter pulled the hosts within 13 points, Sainsbury found the end zone from seven yards way. Golden’s extra point made it 28-8 with four minutes remaining in the third.
The Broncos answered in short order with a 10-yard TD run by Brody Howard at the 2:10 mark. Olinger passed to Tommy Albright for the two-point conversion, cutting the Patriot advantage to 12 points.
That was as close as Holly Pond would get. Wooten and Sainsbury both had a rushing touchdown during the fourth quarter, the former from a yard out and the latter from 55 yards away. Sainsbury ran in both two-point conversion attempts for a 44-16 lead.
The Broncos closed out the scoring with Boston Gibbs’ one-yard touchdown and two-point conversion run with under two minutes left in the game.
Sainsbury finished with 277 yards on 20 carries, while Lawson ran 11 times for 108 yards.
Lawson and Fysher Patterson each had 10 tackles, followed by Josh Carroll with nine, Triston Chaney with six, Sainsbury with five and Jace Golden with four.
Lawson also had a sack, a forced fumble and a a tackle for a loss, while Golden also had a fumble recovery.
The Patriots continue region play on Oct. 20 at home against Cleveland.