Westwood struggles in loss to Windsor

CAMILLA — Friday night at Centennial Stadium didn’t go quite as planned for the Westwood Wildcats. The Windsor Academy Knights gave them plenty of opportunities, but the Wildcats just couldn’t capitalize and fell 33-14.

The first half saw the Knights struggle to get on the same page with five penalties in the first quarter and seven total in the half. One of those penalties was a costly block in the back that killed Windsor quarterback Johnathon Osborn’s 48-yard run and put them back at their own 20.

Still, the Knights were able to make it into Westwood territory thanks to a 51-yard scamper from Marquis Jackson. Jackson powered his way to the Westwood 2-yard line, but from there, Windsor committed back-to-back false starts. Osborn still gathered himself, threw a high pass which Sean Scott was able to bring down and take 11 yards for the touchdown. The point after attempt was no good and Windsor went up 6-0 with 2:58 left in the first quarter.

Westwood’s offense gained yardage and then negated it by losing significant chunks of yards. They were forced to punt the next few possessions after quarterback Zach Howell and his receiving core continued to struggle.

Jackson continued to produce for the Knights, bringing down a near 45-yard catch despite being double-teamed. A few plays later, Osborn found Jai’Kez Mann for a 30-yard touchdown and after the successful 2-point conversion, Windsor Academy went up 14-0 with close to three minutes left in the half.

In their final possession of the first half, Windsor saw a disastrous possession pay off thanks to a huge gamble. Osborne was sacked for a 15-yard loss on second down and then the Knights lost yardage again on third down and brought out the punt unit. They faked the punt and Jackson took it 59 yards up field for the touchdown. The PAT was good and Windsor led 21-0 with 2:20 left in the half.

Westwood came out aggressive in the second half. During their first possession, they put together an 86-yard drive thanks to a huge 30-yard catch by Harris that put them in the red zone. Reid Ford punctuated the drive with a 2-yard score and after the made extra point, the Wildcats were down 21-7 with about three minutes left in the third quarter.

But Windsor would answer, marching back down the field and letting Jackson finish it with a 15-yard touchdown run. The PAT was no good, but the Knights held a 27-7 lead with 2:01 left in the third. Jackson continued to have a stellar night with a 13-yard catch in the fourth to make it 33-7.

Harris had one more touchdown run in him for Westwood to stop the bleeding and give them some hope with about five minutes left, but they couldn’t capitalize on a fumble on the ensuing Windsor possession and the Wildcats fell to 1-1 on the season.