Loving leads Wonder to win

Loving leads Wonder to win

Golden Lions too much for Red Imps

WM School District There was just too much speed on the field for Wonder Junior High Thursday night at Hamilton-Shultz Field.

Ninth-grader Cedric Loving scored three long touchdowns to lead the Golden Lions to a 38-0 victory over the East Red Imps.

Loving's scores came from 21, 62 and 82 yards, the last of which gave Wonder a commanding 320 lead in the third quarter.

'Speed has always been our No. 1 asset,' said Wonder head coach Dewayne Streets, in his 13th year at the helm. 'We broke a lot of long ones tonight, but the biggest thing was the play of our offensive line.'

After forcing the Red Imps to punt on their first possession, Loving set the wheels in motion with a 21-yard touchdown with 2:57 to play in the first quarter for a 6-0 Wonder advantage.

An East fumble led to Wonder's second touchdown of the night, this one a 62-yard scamper by the speedy Loving with 3:20 to play in the second quarter.

The East defense sold out to a Wonder sweep later in the quarter, but the Lions called for a reverse and J'Marious Rodgers galloped into the end zone from 24 yards out.

Wonder quarterback Brayten Maxwell threw effectively all night and he hit Steve Spencer for a 20yard touchdown pass with 13 seconds to play before halftime. Maxwell then connected with Denarius Barnes for the two-point conversion and a 26-0 halftime lead.

In the second half, Wonder added touchdowns of 82 yards from Loving and a 35-yarder from Hakim Washington.

'We had a lot of penalties in the first half,' Streets added. 'We just need to stay together and get ready for our first road trip of the year at Forrest City next week.'

By Billy Woods