At long last, West Wilkes has defeated county rival Wilkes Central. The Blackhawks ended a 17-game losing streak against the Eagles with a 21-14 comeback win on Friday night.

West had not taken down Central since 2006. During the drought, the Blackhawks defeated their other county rivals North Wilkes and East Wilkes 18 times in total.

Sophomore quarterback Cannan Carpenter led West Wilkes to the victory. The 5-foot-11 athlete rushed for 80 yards and two touchdowns and threw for over 100 yards, including a 52-yard touchdown pass.

To start, it looked as though Wilkes Central was set up to continue the steak. The Eagles took a quick 14-0 lead in the first quarter.

The Blackhawks responded to the early adversity. Before the end of the first quarter, Carpenter scored from five yards out to cut the lead in half.

In the second quarter, the teams combined for five punts. West Wilkes took the 14-7 lead into the half.

With a couple of minutes to go in third quarter, Carpenter tied the game with a 52-yard touchdown pass to Jack Taylor.

Carpenter completed the comeback with another rushing touchdown with five minutes left in regulation.

From there, the West Wilkes defense was able to hold for the victory by forcing Wilkes Central to turn the ball over on downs.

After the game, West Wilkes head football coach Scottie Green shared with his team that the bible bible says all you need is the faith the size of a mustard seed. Coach Green was thrilled with his team’s self belief throughout the night.

It was the Homecoming game for West Wilkes. A senior offensive/defensive lineman named Caleb Martin won the 2024 Homecoming King for the school.

West Wilkes (3-4 overall, 2-1 Foothills 2A Conference) will try to continue the momentum at North Surry, the defending conference champion, next week. Wilkes Central (1-7 overall, 1-3 Foothills 2A Conference) is on a bye next week.

Source: highschoolot.com