The Wilson offense came alive for the first time this season on Friday night, and the output was more than enough to beat St. Anthony 52-14 at home in The Battle For 7th Street rivalry game.
High School Football: Long Beach Wilson vs. St. Anthony
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The Bruins (2-2) have won six of the nine meetings with the Saints (0-3) and has won three of the five games since the rivalry was picked back up in 2014.
Wilson quarterback Ryan Pettway and receiver Zach Dolphin hooked up for three touchdowns in a six-minute span of the second quarter to build a 42-7 halftime lead.
“We just got together this week because he’s my main guy,” Pettway said. “He put in the work, and he got after it tonight.”
Pettway had the best night of his junior season with 245 yards on 18-for-30 passing. He also had a rushing touchdown, and didn’t play the majority of the second half. Pettway’s first touchdown pass to Dolphin saw the senior receiver shake multiple tacklers on a 68-yard screen pass.
“We stared off slow this season, but something clicked in me,” Dolphin said. “I have to step up for my team and make big plays. My coaches have faith in me and fed me the ball.”
Dolphin finished with a career-high 11 catches and 126 yards.
“We wanted to get Dolphin active,” Wilson coach Mark Ziegenhagen said. “He’s been kind of quiet the first few games. It was nice for him to have a breakout game. He should do that.”
The Wilson offense had failed to pick up a first down on its first drive of the two season opening losses, but the Bruins went on a 16-play drive to start the 10-7 win at Huntington Beach last week. Last night, the Bruins started with a 10-play scoring drive that was capped by the first of two touchdowns for running back Dillon Harris.
“We’re trying to keep it simple and stay mistake free,” Ziegenhagen said. “Offense came out strong and fast again while the defense did a hell of a job containing Billoups.”
St. Anthony quarterback Nick Billoups accounted for all but one yard of the Saints total offense. The junior threw for 153 yards on 7-for-23 passing while picking up 88 yards on 12 rushes. Both of his touchdown passes to Blake Banks and Steven Garcia were 68-yard scores, and his biggest run of the night for 45 yards came in the final minutes with a running clock.
A pair of second-quarter turnovers caused by Wilson’s Giovanni Fiderio and Soloman Bowie gave Pettway and Dolphin the opportunity to light up the scoreboard.
“We were really able to come together last week as a team, it win really carried over from last week as our defense played stellar again,” Pettway said. “Our offense finally started clicking.”
Wilson opens Moore League play against Cabrillo on Friday while St. Anthony will face Gahr.
“We feel good but Cabrillo is always a tough opponent,” Pettway said. “So like my baseball coach Andy Hall says, we need to just bow our necks and get it done… I’m really happy because my whole family was out here tonight, even my brother was here for once.”
READ MORE about Pettway’s relationship with his older brother Zach Pettway.
STATS
Wilson
QB Ryan Pettway: 18/30, 245 yards, 3 TD (Rush TD)
RB Marcos Nottingham: 14 rushes, 79 yards
RB Dillon Harris: 7 rushes, 24 yards, 2 TDs
WR Zach Dolphin: 11 catches, 126 yards, 3 TDs
St. Anthony
QB Nick Billoups: 7/23, 153 yards, 2 TDs, INT (12 rushes, 88 yards)
