By Dale McKee/Special to The Star
West Jones and Wayne County will do battle for the 15th time today, meeting for the first time in 1991, with Wayne County leading the series 9-5.
1991
Wayne County 13, West Jones 7
Both teams came into the second game of this season undefeated. West Jones had downed Columbia in their season opener while Wayne County had blanked St. Martin.
Ricky Ballard scored on a 37-yard run in the third period and Shannon Lofton had a short run in the fourth period for the War Eagles.
1992
Wayne County 7, West Jones 3
The Saturday sports section proclaimed a couple of heavyweight boxers stood toe-to-toe for three periods. J.P. Varnell kicked a 31-yard field goal early in the fourth period to give the visitors a 3-0 lead.
Wayne County on the next series struck like lighting when sophomore quarterback Cory Reynolds hit Derrick Lang on a 65-yard score with less than six minutes to play.
1999
West Jones 25, Wayne County 14
West Jones scored 18 points in the first eight minutes of the game to dominate the War Eagles.
Erick McDonald scored on a 10-yard run and fired two touchdown passes to Thomas Barnett. McDonald hit Barnett on tosses of 5 and 61 yards. Jason Gardner had a 42-yard interception return for a score in the first period.
2000
Wayne County 12, West Jones 0
Bobby Hall made his debut in this Thursday night game.
Marcus Powe hit Brett Wilson for a 10-yard first period score and Cedric Powe ran 2 yards on a keeper in the fourth period.
2003
West Jones 23, Wayne County 15
No one had seen anything like it. Both teams entered the contest at 8-0 in front of 10,000 fans as the War Eagles fell for the first time in 14 games.
Wayne County had the upper hand in the opening period as Michael McLaughlin ran 11 yards for a score. West Jones then turned the tables in the second period as Britt Barefoot hit three field goals of 20, 40, and 19 yards. Barefoot also caught a 42-yard TD pass in the game.
South State Championship
Wayne County 15, West Jones 14
Freshman quarterback Drexler Johnson did not play in the regular season matchup and was playing in only his fifth high school game.
The first WC scoring drive was a 97-yard, three-play drive in the opening period as Johnson would score the TD on a 10-yard run. After West regained the lead early in the third, Wayne County took the ball with nine minutes to play in the game at their own 9. It took WC 13 plays to hit pay dirt as McLaughlin ran 4 yards.
2004
Wayne County 23, West Jones 14
After Wayne County used a disputed blocked field goal call to go up 13-0 when Johnson hit Marquese Ray on a 21-yard TD pass, West Jones fought back and pulled within 16-14 when Herrington had a 1-yard run with 1:33 to play.
WC would end the scoring when Arthur Everette ran 19 yards with 51 seconds to play.
2005
Wayne County 24, West Jones 16
Because of Hurricane Katrina, West Jones had played only three games and Wayne County had played five games. Both teams were undefeated for the third straight season when meeting each other.
Drexler Johnson hit Ray and Scoot Whigham on TD passes and ran for another. Ray would catch seven passes for 91 yards in the contest.
South State Championship
Wayne County 34, West Jones 6
The teams battled to a 6-6 first half tie. Zach Adams kicked field goals of 26 and 29 yards, while Johnson had a 1-yard run for WC.
In the second half, Johnson hit Ray twice for 39-yard scores and Whigham from 37 yards. Mark Gray intercepted a pass and brought it back 34 yards for another score.
2006
Wayne County 34, West Jones 14
The Mustangs finally got Wayne County on the home field, but the War Eagles exploded for 20 points in the second period.
Steven Chambers, Tracy Lampley, and Calvin McDougle ran for scores, while McDougle hit Reggie Parker for another score. Keith Smith also returned a fumble 38 yards for a TD.
2007
West Jones 9, Wayne County 6
Both teams entered the game 6-3 and were playing for the final playoff spot in the division.
Adam Herrington, who earlier in the game had an extra point blocked, came up big with a 42-yard field goal with only 44 seconds to play.
2008
Wayne County 24, West Jones 7
Wayne County entered the game at 9-0 and was trying for its fourth undefeated regular season in the past five seasons.
Tracy Lampley and Calvin McDougle caught touchdown passes from Demarcus Henderson as they built a 14-7 halftime lead.
Third Round
West Jones 10, Wayne County 7
Adam Herrington kicked a 25-yard field goal in the final period as West gave Wayne its only loss. West Jones did not complete a pass in the game but had an outstanding defensive effort.
Devontae Barnett had a 4-yard interception return for a score for the Mustangs in the third period, and the War Eagles missed a 47-yard field goal on the game’s final play.
2009
West Jones 17, Wayne County 7
Devontay Barnett scored on two short runs as West Jones clipped Wayne County before 10,000 fans and a statewide television audience.
The Mustangs took the lead for good at 10-7 in the third period when sophomore Hunter Estes drilled a 45-yard field goal.
