High School Sports

WHITE PLAINS — Wesley Minton could not have read the play better.

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As though he'd been in White Plains' huddle, the Piedmont linebacker broke left and ran under a softly thrown screen pass.

The ball floated into his hands, and he trotted uncontested into the end zone for a touchdown.

That's how easily things came for Piedmont in its 58-13 victory here Friday.

The Bulldogs scored 45 points in a span of 11 minutes and six seconds in the first half and led 51-7 at halftime. They cruised through a second-half touchdown exchange and improved to 5-1, 4-0 in Class 3A, Region 5.

"I've seen some weird stuff this year," first-year White Plains coach Heath Harmon said, after his team fell to 1-5, 0-3. "Maybe not that many points, but I've seen some things I haven't really seen before."

Amazingly, Piedmont's run came after White Plains took its only lead. Brock Wright's touchdown run plus Konnor Amis' kick put the Wildcats up 7-6 at 8:35 of the first quarter.

But Marquise Diamond returned the ensuing kickoff 85 yards to start Piedmont's scoring bonanza.

Then a Dontavious Holloway interception set up Chase Childers' 18-yard touchdown pass to Minton at 5:13.

Three plays after a White Plains punt, Christain Cantrell broke a 13-yard touchdown run at 2:21 of the first.

Demetrius Johnson took White Plains' next punt back 68 yards for a score at 1:24.

A 17-yard White Plains punt set up Coulter Green's 8-yard touchdown run at 10:42 of the second quarter, and Michael Studdard's 5-yard fumble return for a touchdown made it 44-7 at 9:45.

Then, on White Plains' next play from scrimmage, came Minton's interception return. He made it 51-7 at 9:29 of the second quarter.

"We've never been a part of something like that," Minton said. "We've always put a whippin' on people as the game progresses, but never in the first two quarters.

"I thought that was pretty cool."

If there was a downside to Piedmont's run, it's that the Bulldogs missed four point-after kicks — including two that were blocked — and a 2-point conversion.

Also, Piedmont got off just nine offensive plays during the 45-point onslaught.

"At halftime, we had, with that last drive, maybe 17 or 18 offensive snaps," Piedmont coach Steve Smith said. "… That's the one thing tonight. I don't even know tonight if we even had a drive that was more than four or five plays where we had to sustain it and drive down the field."

Piedmont got on the board first with Cantrell's 22-yard run at 11:36 of the first quarter. This after White Plains fumbled on its first play from scrimmage.

Factor in the game's first score, and Piedmont tallied 51 points in a span of 12:07 — seven seconds longer than a regulation high school quarter.

White Plains got Tyler Jones' 24-yard touchdown run midway though the fourth quarter, but Piedmont got the ball back, after the Wildcats' second onsides kick covered just nine yards.

Two plays later, Cantrell added a 44-yard touchdown run to close out the scoring.

"It just kind of got away from us, but that's where we are," Harmon said. "… You talk about rock bottom. We can touch it and feel it and know it's solid down there."