Willy Ivery Scores Seven Touchdowns in Sulphur Springs’ 63-28 District-Opening Rout of Mount Pleasant

[By Mark Haslett, Special to ETSN.fm]

SULPHUR SPRINGS -- After an early-season stumble, Sulphur Springs has shifted into high gear just in time for the District 14-4A schedule.

The Wildcats rolled over Mount Pleasant 63-28 at Gerald Prim Stadium in Friday night's District 14-4A opener.

Senior Willy Ivery scored a jaw-dropping seven touchdowns -- six rushing, one receiving -- to lead the Wildcats' offensive onslaught.

The Wildcats (4-2, 1-0) have not lost since a 61-22 defeat on Sept. 13 to state-ranked Whitehouse. The Tigers (3-3, 0-1) have not won since a 77-34 victory over Terrell on that same Friday night. Both teams entered tonight’s game coming off a bye week.

“Offensively, they had all they could handle with Willy,” Sulphur Springs coach Greg Owens said. “Willy and (quarterback) Larry (Pryor) did a fantastic job. I thought we controlled the front with the O-line, so they did a super job with all that."

Ivery's 55-yard run on the opening drive of the third quarter gave Sulphur Springs a 53-21 lead and helped put the game out of reach. Ivery scored on runs of 1, 49, 5, 23, 67, and 55 and caught a 46-yard touchdown pass from Pryor, who added two rushing touchdowns of his own.

“We came out in the second, took the ball down the field and scored like we wanted to do. I think it kind of put the nail in the coffin when we scored on that first possession of the second half,” Owens said. “Things just kind of snowballed on Mount Pleasant and we just kept building the lead.”

Sulphur Springs led 46-21 at halftime. With Mount Pleasant needing defensive stops and points in the third quarter to stay in the game, the Wildcats shut the door on the Tigers with that Ivery run and Pryor's seven-yard touchdown run.

“We played terrible,” Mount Pleasant head coach Mart Graham said. “I’m not going to set here and say it any other way. Football’s a game of want-to. If you don’t want to, you’re not going to tackle, you’re not going to block. You’ve got to want to. We didn’t do a very good job of it. Sulphur Springs came out to play and they whupped our butts and that’s all there is to it.”

Pressed to find any positive from tonight’s game, Graham cited a lack of new injuries.

“It’s the first time we didn’t get somebody hurt,” Graham said. “We’re so beat up, it’s unbelievable.”

Mount Pleasant wide receiver K.D. Cannon, who is committed to Baylor, scored two touchdowns and displayed flashes of the game-breaking ability that he possesses, but Mount Pleasant’s offense was inconsistent otherwise.

The high-scoring effort from the Wildcats echoed last year’s game, won 71-65 by Sulphur Springs at Mount Pleasant. The victory was the Wildcats’ 11th in a row against the Tigers. Since 1980, Sulphur Springs owns a 22-12 advantage in the series.

Mount Pleasant visits Marshall next weekend, while Sulphur Springs travesl to Texarkana to face Texas High.

[Mark Haslett is the News Director at KETR-FM in Commerce.]

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District 14-4A

Sulphur Springs 63, Mount Pleasant 28

Gerald Prim Stadium, Sulphur Springs

Mount Pleasant -- 7 14 0 7 -- 28
Sulphur Springs -- 25 21 14 3 -- 63

First quarter
SS -- Willy Ivery 1 run (run failed)
MP -- Luke Craddick 2 run (Andrew Flanagan kick)
SS -- Ivery 49 run (Ryan Watson kick)
SS -- Ivery 5 run (run failed)
SS -- Ivery 46 pass from Larry Pryor (run failed)
Second quarter
MP -- K.D. Cannon 43 pass from Grubbs (Flanagan kick)
SS -- Ivery 23 run (Watson kick)
MP -- Cannon 54 run (Brito kick)
SS -- Ivery 67 run (Watson kick)
SS -- Pryor 1 run (Watson kick)
Third quarter
SS -- Ivery 55 run (Watson kick)
SS -- Pryor 7 run (Watson kick)
Fourth quarter
SS -- Watson 30 FG
MP -- Cannon 9 pass from Joseph Griffin (Flanagan kick)