The Mineola Yellowjackets returned from their short trip down Highway 80 with a convincing 41-10 victory over the Wills Point Tigers Friday. They did it with a suffocating defense and an incredible 381-yard rushing night from senior Trevion Sneed.
Sneed had only 22 carries but split the Tigers defense for two long scoring runs of 88 and 98 yards. The talented back – who also played most of the game as a linebacker – played off his blocks with precision and once through the line split the Wills Point defense wide open. When there wasn’t a clear path, he steamrolled the prospective tacklers. In addition to his two long scoring runs, he had an additional seven rushes over 10 yards.
The game however was no rout. At the quarter break it was scoreless. The Yellowjackets burned up most of the initial quarter with a 13-play drive but turned the ball over on downs deep in Tiger territory.
Midway through the second quarter Mineola was pinned on their own goal line. The following punt gave Wills Point excellent field position and resulted in the Tigers taking a 3-0 lead.
Mineola struck back when left guard Kaleb Barton made a nice kick-out block on the Tigers defensive end. It was all Sneed needed to get into the secondary and race 88 yards to the end zone.
At the half the score stood 7-3.
Mineola came out focused and scored on their initial second-half possession. Quarterback T.J. Moreland hit Dawson Pendergrass in the right flat and he flew 38 yards for the score.
Wills Point closed to 14-10 after a blocked punt gave them the ball inside the Yellowjacket 5-yard line.
Midway through the third quarter Mineola broke the game wide open with four consecutive scoring possessions. The first featured a 53-yard Sneed gallop, the second a 27-yard run. The third came when Pendergrass intercepted a post route and returned the ball 60 yards for a score. The final tally of the night was Sneed’s 98-yard slicing run.
The Mineola offense rang up 500 yards, while the Yellowjacket defense held Wills Point to 111.
Defensive highlights included the work of Nate Griffen and Kejuan Fite on the interior defensive line. Their stalwart defense took away much of the Tigers’ offensive playbook. Additionally, the closing speed of the Yellowjacket defense at the corners complimented the strong defensive line play.
The Yellowjackets will be gearing up for a different challenge with an old foe, the West Rusk Raiders this Friday at Meredith Memorial Stadium.
The Raiders fell in a tough game against the Sabine Cardinals last Friday.