FOOTBALL ROUNDUP : Wilson Pulls Away From Washington

Backed by the passing arm of Eddie Gonzalez and rushing of Arlin Slayton, the Mules exploded for 20 points in the second half to beat Washington, 27-11, in a City 3-A quarterfinal game at Wilson High.

Gonzalez passed for 159 yards and a touchdown. Slayton rushed for 157 yards and two touchdowns in 21 carries.

“Gonzalez was the guy who was our trigger man,” Wilson Coach Eddie Martinez said. “He’s been our key man all year. We couldn’t sit on the lead. We had to go after them because the Generals are aggressive, quick and good.”

After Dennis Northcutt returned the opening kickoff 86 yards to the Mules’ four-yard line, Vestor Ellison kicked a 20-yard field goal.

The Mules answered in the secnd quarter when Gonzalez guided his team on a 12-play, 75-yard drive capped by his one-yard quarterback sneak. After linebacker Anthony Rodriguez recovered Phillip Scott’s fumble at the Mules’ 47, Gonzalez had a chance to score again, but the Generals defense stiffened and time expired in the second half.

In the third quarter, Gonzalez connected with Darryn Pleasants on a 35-yard scoring pass. Gonzalez completed six consecutive passes for 82 yards during the third quarter, which ended with Wilson leading 14-3.

After a slow start, Slayton gained 123 of his 157 yards in the second half, scoring touchdowns on runs of 27 and 1 yards.

The Generals made things interesting when Scott scored on a five-yard run and Northcutt added a two-point conversion to make the score 20-11 with 6:44 left in the game.