Dylan Gale, Jansen McCurdy + White Oak Rough Up Troup, 56-7

[By Anthony Hawthorne, Special to ETSN.fm]

WHITE OAK --  Following pregame festivities to crown White Oak’s football sweetheart, the Roughnecks were a bit slow getting onto the field.

But once they got there, they made their presence known in a big way.

The duo of Dylan Gale and Jansen McCurdy connected for three first-half scores, Gabe Michael took a punt to the house from 67 yards out for one of his three scores and the Roughnecks never trailed in a 56-7 victory over a Troup squad playing their first game without Baylor-commit QB Blake Lynch.

The Necks defense dominated all night, frustrating new Troup quarterback Brandon Hearon with pressure and forcing seven first-half punts and three turnovers. The Tigers found little success with their normally reliable running game, as White Oak defensive tackles Kris Layman and D’Quontis Sutton and defensive end Hayden Nichols made their presence known.

White Oak’s (7-1, 2-1) opening drive of 10 plays and 88 yards was its longest of the night and was capped by a Gale to McCurdy score from 27 yards out.

The Necks' next two drives both lasted only two plays and both ended with Gale to McCurdy strikes from 33 and 55 yards out, respectively, which pushed the lead to 21 points.

Michael, not to be outdone, took a punt from Hearon at his own 33-yard line across the field, picking up a huge block from Jake Pullen to free him to the sideline where he returned it 67 yards for the score.

Gale would continue to throw darts throughout the first half, tossing five of his six scores before the break. Both Michael and Riley Lakin would catch touchdown passes, with Lakin also finding the end zone on the ground.

Lakin, a tailback, would finish the night with 138 yards and a score on 13 carries to go along with his TD catch.

White Oak would go on to score on each of its first half possessions, outgaining Troup 407-69 to gain a 49-7 lead at the break.

Gale and Michael would connect on the game's only second half points, a 37-yard score that was Michael's third TD of the night, and Gale’s 20th passing TD on the year. Gale finished the night 13 of 20 for 331 yards and six TDs.

Troup’s lone score came on a pass from Hearon to Hitachi Lydia from 20 yards out late in the first quarter to cut White Oak's lead to 21-7. Hearon finished the night 5 of 20 for 82 yards. Marcus Kincade led the way on the ground with 62 yards on 9 carries.

Troup (5-3, 1-2) travels to Harmony next week, while White Oak heads to Sabine.

White Oak 56 Troup 7

At Roughneck Stadium, White Oak

Troup              7     0     0     0  -- 7
White Oak    21    28     7     0 -- 7
First Quarter
WO – Dylan Gale 26-yard pass to Jansen McCurdy (Jack Rogers Kick) 7:14
WO – Dylan Gale 33-yard pass to Jansen McCurdy (Rogers Kick) 5:39
WO – Gabe Michael 67-yard punt return (Rogers Kick) 3:25
TP – Brandon Hearon 20-yard pass to Hitachi Lydia (Daniel Rojo Kick) :05
Second Quarter
WO – Dylan Gale 55-yard pass to Jansen McCurdy (Kick Failed) 11:13
WO – Riley Lakin 2-yard rush (Cass Carr 2-PT Run) 10:35
WO – Dylan Gale 13-yard pass to Gabe Michael (Rogers Kick) 5:45
WO – Dylan Gale 4-yard pass to Riley Lakin (Rogers Kick) 2:10
Third Quarter
WO – Dylan Gale 37-yard pass to Gabe Michael (Rogers Kick) 5:05

                               TRO        WO
First Downs             6             10
Total Yards             177          490
Rushes-Yards         26-95      22-151
Pass Yards              82           339
Comp-Att-Int           5-20-0    15-24-1
Penalties-Yards      4-20         3-25
Fumbles-Lost          3-3           0-0
Punts-Avg                8-32        2-42

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- Troup, Marcus Kincade 9-62 Brandon Hearon 4(-5) D’Luis West 5-21 Hitachi Lydia 2-3 Coltan Petree 1(-3) Marquis Davis 4-23 Marcus Davis 1-3. White Oak, Riley Lakin 13-138 (1 TD) Dylan Gale 1(-4) Zach Rowe 6-13 Jesse Reeves 1-0 Cordelle Smith 1-5
PASSING – Troup, Brandon Hearon 5-20 82 (1 TD). White Oak, Dylan Gale 13-20 331 (6 TD) Cordelle Smith 2-4 8 (1 INT).
RECEIVING – Troup, An’fernee Ross 3-46 Dustin Perry 1-16 Hitachi Lydia 1-20 (1 TD). White Oak, Jansen McCurdy 4-158 (3 TD) Riley Lakin 1-4 (1 TD) Hayden Nichols 2-42 Gabe Michael 3-62 (2 TD) Cass Carr 2-47 Josh Benson 2-18 Dax Davis 1-8