On September 29, East Rankin took on Amite School Center for the team’s Senior Night. The Patriots’ record was 1-4 as they challenged the winless Rebels. Weeks prior, the Patriots’ most important players were running backs senior Liam Wilkerson and sophomore Brandon Loper. The Patriots also faced injury problems with quarterbacks Reece Cordell and Rivers Belk being hurt. That being said, the Patriots were confident in their new starting quarterback, Luke Wesson, to lead them into victory.
In Amite’s first drive, they progressed downfield to jump to 8-0. The Patriots jumped back on their first drive with a 45 yard touchdown run up the middle from Liam Wilkerson.
East Rankin continued their momentum in the start of the second quarter with a defensive stop that led to an Amite punt. Additionally, Nick Wesson scored on a 51 yard reverse when he broke to the outside to put them up 14-8.
East Rankin’s defense was impeccable after sophomore defensive back Aidan Carlisle had a 75 yard pick-six that widened the Patriots lead. On Amite’s next drive, sophomore Taylor Woods also collected an interception on a bad pass. A 30 yard reception from senior Jace Denson and a 20 yard run from Wilkerson once again put East Rankin ahead 28-8.
Amite did however strike back on their next drive when wide receiver Dreher Van Norman collected a touchdown reception to close the Patriots lead to 28-14. Additionally, the Rebels capitalized on defense and collected an interception. On the last play of the half, the Rebels quarterback broke to the left side and ran for a 50 yard touchdown to bring the score to 28-20.
To begin the second half, Wilkerson gathered multiple 10 yard runs to put the Patriots into scoring position. The Patriots struggled in the red zone and settled for a 30 yard field goal from senior Brax Rials to extend the lead to 31-20. Wilkerson added to his performance on the next drive with a 61 yard run for another touchdown.
Amite jumped back with a 10 yard rushing touchdown to bring the score to 38-26. The Patriots got the Rebels back on a 85 yard kickoff return by Aidan Carlisle for a touchdown.
The Rebels’ force carried on with a 30 yard touchdown reception from junior wide receiver J.T. Bass that closed the Patriot lead within two scores.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Wilkerson remained unstoppable when he racked up another touchdown with a 42 yard rush. Brandon Loper closed out the game with a touchdown run of his own to bring the score to 59-32. The game ended with a fumble recovery by Patriot Grayson Williams on a Rebels bad snap.
Throughout the game, one thing was obvious: Almost every time East Rankin had the ball, they ended up scoring. The East Rankin offense had so much success that they accumulated over 300 rushing yards, scored 59 for the first time since 1979, and were 7 points shy of scoring the most in school history.
The rest of the Patriots’ season will depend on their ability to be consistent. If the run game succeeds and the defense forces turnovers, the Patriots could see themselves in the playoffs for the first time since 2017.
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