Annawan-Wethersfield battled both the ROWVA-Williamsfield Cougars and the lousy weather Friday night and came home from Oneida with a key 28-6 conference win.
The Titans, whose only loss was by one point to undefeated Stark County, are now 7-1 going into next week’s final regular-season closer against Princeville at Wethersfield Memorial Stadium.
Aided by a Zeb Rashid touchdown and a fumble by the home team on their first possession, the Titans led 14-0 in the final minutes of the first half. Then, with just 1:40 to go in the half, Rashid scored to give Annawan-Wethersfield a 21-0 halftime lead.
Both teams had to contend with rain that turned the field into a soggy mess by the second half. That, and a strong defensive effort by Annawan-Wethersfield, kept the Cougars scoreless through the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the Titans, keyed by the running of Rashid, quarterback Dillon Horrie and sophomore running back Nic Thurston, found themselves at R-W’s four-yard line.
After the Cougars stopped a couple of runs, Horrie connected with Ryker Gillespie for a touchdown to make it 28-0 with just under six minutes left in the game.
The hosts avoided a shutout thanks to a long return of the ensuing kickoff. But they missed the extra point, making the score 28-6.
From there, the Titans employed a “ground and pound” strategy, running the ball well enough to take time off the clock.
ROWVA-Williamsfield did force a Titans punt with less than three minutes to go, but their offense couldn’t move the ball.
Annawan-Wethersfield’s Senior Night opponent next week, Princeville, was 4-3 heading into Friday’s game against 2-5 Rushville-Industry.
