Wilby’s Raekwon James and Aaron James were running full-tilt on the new turf of the Ryan Athletic Complex in Derby on Saturday, and there wasn’t much that the host Red Raiders could do to slow the duo down.
Raekwon James scored three touchdowns — one on the ground, one through the air from Aaron James, and another on a kickoff return — while Aaron James ran for two scores. It all added up to a 32-19 Wilby victory over Derby. The Wildcats improved to 3-2 and won their third straight game for the first time since 2013. Wilby won its final game in 2012, then took the first two games of the 2013 season.
Big plays were the name of the game for Wilby on Saturday. Four of the five touchdowns went for 50 yards or more, including a long of 78 yards on a Raekwon James kickoff return.
Wilby was able to overcome several turnovers by forcing a bunch on defense. Raekwon James and Giovanni Brown recovered fumbles while Andres Urena and David Laboy both picked up an interception.
Watching the terrific highlight package put together by Rick Volk (@Berford2611 on Twitter, http://youtube.com/user/RickVolk21), it was easy to see that Wilby’s speed was a big factor. On the first touchdown, Aaron James scrambled for a 19-yard touchdown run. His two-point conversion pass to Ronald Rogers put the Wildcats up 8-0 with 6:47 left in the first quarter.
The lone James to James scoring connection of the game may have been the most spectacular of the touchdowns. On the first play of the second quarter, Aaron James dropped a low snap, then somehow managed to get a short pass by the Derby rush to Raekwon James on his left. Raekwon James made one tackler miss, then was gone down the Wilby sideline for a 55-yard touchdown. The Wildcats had a 14-0 lead with 11:49 left in the second quarter.
Derby took advantage of a short field following a Wilby interception and scored on a touchdown pass. The Wildcats blocked the extra point, however, leaving the score at 14-6. Just before the end of the first half, Aaron James struck again, this time for a 50-yard touchdown run. The score put Wilby ahead 20-6 at halftime.
Derby scored on another touchdown pass early in the third quarter to get to within 20-13, but Wilby came up with a couple big defensive plays later on. Deshaun Wilson had a sack, then Andres Urena came up with a leaping interception on a jump ball near the Wildcat sideline.
Wilby appeared to be going in for a touchdown late in the third quarter, but the ball was fumbled into the end zone and Derby recovered it for a touchback. The Raiders scored early in the fourth quarter on a third touchdown pass, but the extra point failed, and the home team trailed 20-19.
On the ensuing kickoff, Raekwon James again made some magic happen for Wilby, this time on a 78-yard touchdown return. The Wildcats again led by seven points, 26-19, with 10:08 to play in the game. With just over six minutes to play, Raekwon James added a 68-yard touchdown run to put Wilby ahead 32-19. Laboy intercepted a Derby pass at the goalline, and the Wildcats ran out the clock.
What can Wilby do for an encore? We’ll have to wait a couple weeks to find out. The Wildcats have a bye this coming week before heading to Torrington to face another squad of Red Raiders on Oct. 25 at 7 p.m.
Photo caption: Wilby football picked up its third straight win, the first winning streak of that length for the Wildcats since the 2012-2013 seasons. (Copyright, Sports on CT-69, file)
