Freshman hero
Woodville's Rhorer kicks Eagles to 2-0 district start
By JIMMY GALVAN Managing Editor

Taylor Rhorer

Last year, Taylor Rhorer was in eighth grade.

On Friday, Oct. 19, Rhorer drilled a pressure 27-yard field goal in overtime to lift Woodville past San Augustine and keep the Eagles unbeaten in District 23-2A at 2-0.

"Just a great football game - it's a good thing we have a kicker," said Woodville Head Football Coach Steve Fentress.

Rhorer has been good on his last 25 attempts as placekicker for Woodville including 22 PATs.

"He's not bad at all," Fentress said. "He's a freshman and he was nervous."

It helped Rhorer that was able to kick a 30-yard field to end the first half of play but that only prepared him for his overtime heroics.

"I'm glad he had the opportunity to kick that one before this one," Fentress said. "He kicked the overtime kick from the 17-yard line, right hash mark and he drilled it."

Fentress said he expected San Augustine to give Woodville a hard time last week.

"We thought we could move the ball on them and we did," Fentress said. "We made some big stops in the second half to help us win the game."

San Augustine came right out and scored on three plays to take a quick lead. Woodville responded with a score of their own to knot the contest.

The two teams traded scores on their second drives of the night to remain tied at 14-all before they exchanged field goals to end the first half tied at 17-all.

"Every time they did one, we responded," Fentress said.

In the second half, Woodville claimed their first lead of the night when the Eagles took the opening drive and lit up the scoreboard again.

The lead looked like it might hold up until San Augustine scored on their final possession of the game to tie the game and send it into overtime.

In the overtime period, San Augustine started out first and drove to the Woodville 17 and was faced with a fourth-and-two call. The Wolves elected to go for the first down and was stopped cold by Woodville's defense.

Woodville drove all the way to the 10 before electing to go for the game-winning field goal.

"They called a timeout and he came over and I told him not to worry about missing it because if he did we would still keep playing," Fentress said. "It was one of those games that tells you why you are in this game."

Adam Rigsby led Woodville with 163 yards on 29 carries and two touchdowns while Stephen Williams rushed for 79 yards.

Woodville stands at 2-0 in district but the Eagles face a tough three-game stretch starting this Friday on the road against Corrigan- Camden.

"We learned a lot about ourselves Friday night," Fentress said. "We learned that first, we're not going to quit and we learned that we can win a big game. We have never been able to line up toe-to-toe and finish. We learned as coaches how much character these kids have."

The game will also feature a bit of a homecoming contest for Fentress as he returns to take on the team that he used to coach as defensive coordinator.

"I knew it was coming sooner or later," Fentress said. "My kids know what this game means to me. I think they will be ready to go. They know what we do and we know what they do.

"It's always special to go back and play kids you've coached for the past six years," Fentress said. "We know that if we win this one, there is a good shot that we are in the playoffs and that would even make it more special."