The Wesleyan Wolves (8-2) capped off their regular season with a 49-6 win against Athens Christian last Friday, tying the school record for victories. Third-year head coach Franklin Pridgen has seen his Wolves win seven in a row, including a 17-7 victory over Athens Academy on Oct. 24. After handing the Spartans their first region loss since 2005, Wesleyan seems poised for a nice run in its new classification. Pridgen credits the experience from Region 6-AA for his team’s success in its first year in Region 8-A.
It’s been great in that I don’t feel like we’re at a physical (disadvantage) anymore because of our enrollment,” Pridgen said. “We’re on a level footing with our opponents in terms of depth and quality of players. It’s nice not to have Buford and teams like that on our schedule. Having kids that have played in 2A against those types of teams, I think it’s helped us a lot this year. To be able to step up in this region and win it is great for our program.”
With a number of young players, Pridgen had to ask his team to mature over the course of a season in which the Wolves stumbled out of the blocks.
“One of the reasons we started off 1-2 is because we had so many young players and new starters that needed to develop and needed to grow up a little bit,” he said. “The two teams that beat us (Darlington and Holy Innocents’) are fantastic football teams. We’re a lot better now than we were then. Those games were instrumental in our growth and the kids that needed to grow up did, and did pretty quickly. That’s why we’ve been so successful.”
ON THE LINE
Some of Wesleyan’s success can also be attributed to the experienced two-way starters on the line of scrimmage. Seniors Josh Parrish (6-foot-4, 300 pounds) and Andrew Patrick (6-2, 265) anchor a ball-hawking defense as well as Pridgen’s Multiple-I offense. Junior linebacker Bobby Fulton is one of the beneficiaries of the solid work done up front, serving as a team leader in tackles, with fellow junior Devin Stanton playing good football at linebacker as well.
The perfect record in the region was the first in the program’s history, and now the Wolves have a week off before their opening-round playoff game. Their opponent will most likely be the Warren County Screaming Devils. Pridgen likes his team’s attitude going into its bye week.
Our kids want to keep the momentum going. They have a lot of confidence right now and they’ve got a real healthy swagger about them,” Pridgen said. “They understand that if we continue to improve every week and play well, that confidence will just grow and put us in a better position to go far in the playoffs.”
The Wesleyan offense shouldn’t have any confidence issues heading into the playoffs. During the current seven-game win streak, the Wolves have averaged 36 points per game. Sophomore running back Kyle Karempelis is the team’s game-breaker on the ground, scoring 18 touchdowns this season. Karempelis is Wesleyan’s leading rusher with over 1,100 yards on the season, but the Multiple-I produces more than just a running game. Quarterback Conor Welton’s primary target is wideout Lee Ellis, who leads the team in receiving yards and catches.
“(Our offense) is lots of running, but it’s balanced; we’re about 60/40 run to pass,” Pridgen said. “We play-action, but we’re not afraid to spread it out and put four wide receivers in the game. (We) get in the shotgun and can chuck it around a bit. We feel that we’re pretty versatile. We can be pretty good when we put our minds to it.”
LATEST RESULTS
Wesleyan had already claimed the region title prior to its final game of the season against Athens Christian. The Wolves’ underclassmen represented well in the Senior Night triumph. Karempelis rushed for 146 yards on 18 carries and four touchdowns on the night. Bobby Fulton recovered a fumble and Devin Stanton added an interception on the defensive side. The game offered Wesleyan a chance to play its reserves for most of the second half, giving the starters even more rest heading into their playoff game.
The football program will be seeking its first playoff victory since a 28-0 win against Calhoun in 2005. The steady growth of the Wesleyan football team is a picture of progression, and Pridgen’s team should be exciting to watch in the playoffs.
Mitchell can be reached at cmitchell@scoreatl.com.
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