Holt gets big CAAC Blue win with strong defense, quarterback play
DELTA TWP. – A relentless defense was the difference for Holt on Friday night.
The unit slowly took over as the game progessed, and along with solid game management from the quarterback position, led the Rams to a bounce-back 30-6 CAAC Blue road victory over Waverly.
"When we faced a few tough times and critical moments in the game, our guys didn't back down and they kept fighting," Holt coach Chad Fulk said. "Eventually we got some breaks that sometimes go the other way, but it worked out for us."
Holt quarterback Seneca Moore opened the scoring in the second quarter, scrambling to avoid pressure, then directing his receiver to the open area before firing a 5-yard strike for six to senior Charles Thompson.
Taking an 8-0 lead into halftime, Moore came out and led the Rams on a scoring drive to open the third quarter, capped off with a 15-yard pitch-and-catch from Moore to senior receiver Ryan Davis
"We wanted to make sure we kept that same energy coming out in the second half on both sides of the ball," Moore said. "Defense wins championships, and they really lit up the fire in the team and gave us the momentum to go out and do our thing right away."
Moore finished 10 of 14 passing for 136 yards and two touchdowns, and ran for 32 yards as well.
Waverly got on the board in the fourth quarter on a fourth-down 16-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Ronnie Spencer to receiver Mar'Tavion Robinson.
Holt responded with a long drive that wound up seeing senior running back Bryce Cornelius scamper for a 4-yard touchdown.
Following a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, Cornelius had a game-sealing score three plays later from 3 yards out. Cornelius finished with 79 yards on the ground for the Rams.
Linebacker JJ Arnold had seven tackles and defensive end Carloes Speed added six to lead the Holt defense. Both players had three tackles for loss as the Rams defense lived in the Waverly backfield for a good portion of the night.
"We knew we had some mismatches where we were going to be able to get some pressure," Fulk said. "(Waverly) is so athletic and it's difficult to contain them, and we struggled a bit but figured it out in the end."
Holt (3-3) will host Lansing Everett (2-4) next Friday, while Waverly (4-2) will play at East Lansing (5-1)
Contact Nathaniel Bott at nbott@lsj.com and follow him on Twitter @Nathaniel_Bott
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Holt gets big league win with strong defense, quarterback play
