Merritt Leads Westran to Win Over Scotland County

Derrick Merritt rushed for three touchdowns to lead the Westran Hornets to a 22-12 victory over the Scotland County Tigers Friday.

On a Homecoming night where Merritt took king honors, the senior quarterback found the endzone three times in the first half. Both squads stalled offensively early before Merritt broke the scoring open late in the first.

Brandon Monty with the call on KRES and centralmoinfo.com. After a quiet first quarter, both squads erupted offensively in the second as the Tigers answered early in the quarter.

One minute later, Merritt delivered the biggest play of the game to maintain the Hornets lead.

Scotland County would get another passing touchdown on a 22-yard strike from Hayden Long to Trayton Buckallew to make it 14-12 Hornets with 4:51 left in the half. Merritt capped off a 25-point quarter between the teams with an eight-yard touchdown run to make it 20-12 Hornets at the half. Westran head coach Aaron O’Laughlin praised his senior quarterback’s efforts.

The only two points in the second half came on a safety by Westran with 2:46 left in the third. O’Laughlin said he was impressed by the fight his defense displayed.

The Hornets limited a Tigers ground game that was averaging 267 yards a game coming in. Hayden Long threw for two scores on passes to Buckallew and Riley Small. Scotland County head coach Troy Carper said there are positives to take away from the loss as the Tigers enter the final stretch of the season.

Carper notes the pass defense of the Tigers made progress in this contest, but the tackling of his defensive unit will be a point of emphasis in practice over the next week.

Westran improves to 3-3, while Scotland County falls to 2-4. Both teams hit the road for week seven as the Hornets take on Sweet Springs and the Tigers match up with Miller.

Aaron O’Laughlin Interview:

Troy Carper Interview: