Visiting Willits won the battle up front and got a terrific individual performance by senior Jacob Arms as the Wolverines knocked St. Vincent from the ranks of the unbeaten with a 27-0 win at Yarborough Field on Saturday afternoon.
Arms broke away early with touchdown runs of 62 and 51 yards in the first quarter and the Wolverines were never threatened.
“I told the kids this week that if we lost to Willits, it would be because of the play of Arms,” said a disappointed Mustang head coach Trent Herzog. It turned out that way, and Arms was even better than advertised.
The Wolverine running back wound up rushing for three touchdowns from scrimmage, and he completely took the air out of St. Vincent comeback hopes by stepping in front of a third- quarter Jacob Porteous flat pass and scooting 90 yards along the left sideline for another score.
The interception was a killer for St. Vincent as the Mustangs came out after intermission and took possession of the football on a successful onside kick recovery by Liam O’Hare. The stage was set for an emotional trip back into the game, but it never materialized.
Willits turned in a masterful job on the defensive side of the ball by limiting Mustang running sensation Kai Hall to 21 yards on 12 attempts. Hall came into the contest with 366 yards and 6 touchdowns in wins against McKinleyville and Cloverdale.
“We keyed on Hall for the entire game,” said Wolverine coach Brandon Norbury. “We wanted them to go to the pass, and it worked today. I’m not going to say too much more about how because we might see them again in the playoffs. St. Vincent can be much better.”