THE ETBLITZ.COM TEAM OF THE WEEK… | is the White Oak Roughnecks!
We’re a day late with this announcement, and when you do that, you’d better make it a good one.
We’d say for this week’s ETBlitz.com Team of The Week, it’s a good one.
Three wins, two of them having hit at least 50 points, and two of them having held their opponents to under 15 points, a long way from where they were last year, this year’s honorees are the White Oak High School Roughnecks.
Coach Mike Ludlow’s Roughnecks are 3-0, and as they used to say in old-school radio, they’re 3-0 with a bullet. They’ve played three games and won all three; outscored their opponents, 136-59; one of them was a playoff regular; beat two of them by an average of 37 points; and have one more to go – this Friday night at 7:30 p.m. at Queen City – before starting district play in Atlanta next Friday.
It’s a pretty good time to be a Roughneck right now.
The ‘Necks have ran for 683 yards and 10 touchdowns on the season so far, and coaches will love this: they’re averaging right at 7 yards a carry, and 227 yards on the ground per game. Quarterback Jaxsen Ludlow is leading the way, and he’s got 322 rushing yards (9.2 a carry!) and five touchdowns. He’s getting 107.3 yards a game, by himself. He’s had 35 carries so far this season.
Josh Allen has carried the ball 44 times in three games, for 274 yards, five touchdowns and averages 6.2 yards a carry and 91.3 yards a game. Throw in guys like Levi Sipes, Kyler Priest and the versatile Logan Ladwig, and you’ve got a dangerous, dangerous running game.
Ask Eustace, Paul Pewitt, and Quitman.
Ladwig leads the team in receiving with 258 yards and four scores on 14 catches, and Braydon Bratcher has nine grabs for 168 yards and three TDs. Tysen McClain, Allen, Tyson McKinney, and Dillon Sanchez are all in the mix, as well.
Ludlow – the quarterback, not the coach; he’s the coach’s son – has been efficient, accurate and running the offense like he’s driving a Charger down Highway 80. He’s 33-of-43 (that’s 76 percent) for 536 yards, averaging 178 yards a game, has thrown for nine touchdowns and no interceptions.
Let’s talk defense, where the Roughnecks are much-improved: 18 tackles for loss, 10 players with double-digit tackle totals, and 10 turnovers collected, seven of them fumble recoveries.
Junior Cameron Venable leads the way with 37 tackles. Sipes is in the neighborhood, coming around the corner with 24, and Michael Morgan’s in Sipes’ back seat – he’s got 21.
Kenny Poul has 18, Braddock Richardson 16, Jacob Sorgee, 14, Maddox Bzdil, Scotty Breitenberg, and Collin Wheat, 13 each, and Trevor Sizemore, 11.
If there’s a downside, it’s that Morgan has the team’s only recorded sack this season.
McKinney, Breitenberg and Venable each have an interception; Morgan and Sizemore each have two fumble recoveries, and McKinney, Sipes, and Sorgee each have one. Poul has a caused fumble, as do Priest, Breitenberg, Morgan, Brayden Young and Lucas Frazier.
Ludlow doubles as the team’s punter, but he hasn’t had to work too hard – so far this season, he’s only punted six times, averaging 43.8 yards a kick, a long of 54 yards.
Junior Brady Prazak handles the placekicking duties, and he’s been excellent: 15-of-16 on extra point attempts, and only one field goal attempted, and he hit it: a 43-yarder.
This Friday, the Roughnecks play at Queen City, a team that lost 38-26 at Grace Community to open the season; lost to Harleton, 35-0, in week two; then lost to Elysian Fields, 24-21, a week ago.
Congratulations, coach Ludlow, and to the White Oak Roughnecks for being named the ETBlitz.com Team of the Week!