Wetumpka first-year head coach Bear Woods is known for his defense, and his 2022 Wetumpka football team is carrying on that identity as well.
Wetumpka beat Jeff Davis, 27-10, in domination fashion on Friday night to open the season. The Indians defense allowed no points, forced five turnovers, and capped off the game with a defensive touchdown on an interception return.
The win is the first win for Wetumpka under Woods, and it’s Woods’ first win in his coaching career.
“This is what I expect,” Woods said of his defense. “This is our identity and our philosophy. The cat’s out of the bag now. People were asking why I closed practice. They had to wait until August 19. Now they know why we did that. The guys did good. That identity change is still happening. I simply asked these guys to go show the community their love for each other by playing with energy and I think they did that tonight.”
Wetumpka’s defense got the game started early. After Jeff Davis received the opening kickoff, Wetumpka quickly recovered a fumble in Volunteers’ territory. With a short field ahead of them, the Wetumpka offense quickly took advantage.
A few runs set up a goal line run, and running back Michael Dillard punched in the first touchdown of the 2022 season.
The defense then forced a three-and-out, but was put into a bad situation after a Jeff Davis interception and personal foul gave the Volunteers the ball inside the red zone.
It didn’t matter, however, as James Ball intercepted a pass in the end zone for the second turnover of the game.
Wetumpka’s offense was forced to a three-and-out, and the ball was snapped out of the end zone on the punt attempt to cut Wetumpka’s lead to 7-2.
On the punt, Jeff Davis’ DJ Harris returned it 60 yards for a touchdown and put the Volunteers up, 10-7. That was the only Jeff Davis lead of the night. Wetumpka battled back with two late touchdowns in the second quarter. Nate Rogers scored a 19-yard run with 2:14 left in the half, then Dillard scored his second touchdown on a 5-yard run with less than a minute left in the half.
“The identity change was how we are going to respond to the ebbs and flows,” Woods said. “That was the biggest test. How are we going to respond? Tonight was the test. That was a great scenario. We were playing dominating football, and in 10 seconds, the world turned upside down metaphorically speaking. They answered to it.”
In the second half, Wetumpka’s defense was just as dominant as they were in the first half. The defense forced three more turnovers as Jeff Davis never threatened to score.
On the second possession of the half, Justin Crumbaugh recovered a fumble. That was followed by a Tristan Bennett interception, and Crumbaugh ended the game with a 50-yard pick six in the final minute.
“There’s no other to cap off this first game than him,” Woods said of Crumbaugh. “Tremendous leader. What a way to end the first game. A middle linebacker in the first game for a middle linebacker head coach. Can you script it up any better than that? I couldn’t.”
