For the first time in three games, the Wolverines stood on the precipice of victory against La Salle. Quarterback Jameson Wang ’20 ran in a five-yard touchdown, cutting the deficit to a single score with just under a quarter to play.
As soon he crossed the goal line, the Wolverines mobbed Wang in the end zone. The drumline struck up a rhythm and the cheerleaders launched into an uptempo routine.
“Let’s go!” someone shouted. “Let’s finish this game!”
La Salle’s response, a four-minute scoring drive capped with a gut-punch touchdown run, silenced the Wolverines sideline. The Lancers piled on 20 points in the final quarter, defeating the Wolverines 55-28.
“We just ran out of gas,” team captain Zac Harleston ’17 said.
The Wolverines’ defense had a difficult night, surrendering 494 total yards. La Salle scored twice in the first quarter, including a six-minute opening drive. They were able to dictate the flow of the game, chewing massive amounts of time off the clock with a brutally effective ground attack. By the end of the game, the Lancers had gashed the Wolverines’ run defense for 476 yards.
However, the Wolverines did force a pair of turnovers. Sultan Daniels ’19 forced a fumble, which was recovered for a touchdown by Cam Jones ’18. Thomas Glover ’18 came down with an interception in the third quarter.
Jones recovers the fumble (forced by Daniels) for a WOLVERINES TOUCHDOWN!!! Lyons with the PAT. 14-7 La Salle, Q2 9:06 pic.twitter.com/PTUC0ivH4Q
— Harvard-Westlake (@hwathletics) October 29, 2016
Offensively, the Wolverines scored the second-most points in a game this season, but were largely ineffective until the second half. Glover took snaps as a wildcat quarterback, leading the Wolverines on a scoring drive in the third quarter. Wang threw a touchdown to Harleston and added his rushing score in the fourth quarter.
However, the offense struggled after that point, and Wang was pick-sixed with 1:01 left on the clock.
La Salle pick-sixes Wang with just over a minute to play. 55-28 La Salle
— H-W Chronicle Sports (@HWCsports) October 29, 2016
“When we go all out and sell out, we can do a lot of great things,” Harleston said. “We just have to focus on doing that from start to finish.”
The Wolverines special teams unit rebounded after a pair of rough showings. Kicker Josh Lyons ’17 was a perfect 4-4 on PAT’s and added a deep touchback kick. The kickoff unit managed to avoid allowing long returns and executed an onside kick after Harleston’s touchdown.
The Wolverines play the final game of the season against undefeated Cathedral Nov. 4.
“They’re a good team, and we respect that,” Harleston said. “But we’re going to go as hard as possible, do our best to win and treat it like any other league game.”
