No. 4 Gorillas knock off No. 1 Warbirds
- Caleb Christensen
- May 6, 2018
- 2 min read

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WOLSEY — Homecoming was spoiled for the top-ranked Wolsey-Wessington Warbirds on Friday night.
The No. 4 Gregory Gorillas overcame a sloppy start to the game to pull out a 40-36 upset on the Class 9AA defending state champions in Wolsey.
The big play of the game was Andy McCance's 32-yard touchdown pass to J.J. Beck with 3 minutes and 27 seconds left in the game. McCance was under pressure and was nearly tackled before he let the throw go.
Nerves were a main factor to start the game as both teams coughed up the ball early in the game. After the first couple of drives, each team found its true form.
"We had a rough first quarter. We shot ourselves in the foot too much," said Gregory coach Brian Allmendinger, whose team trailed 28-16 at halftime. "We talked about that at halftime and I think we just all relaxed and came out swinging."
Gregory had the ball to start the second half and didn't give it up for more than 9 minutes in the third quarter, leading to a McCance rushing touchdown to make it 28-21.
McCance finished the game with three touchdown passes in the game, including two passes to Jayd VanDerWerff. The last of which, a two-yard pass, put the Gorillas ahead 32-28 with 11 minutes left to go for their first lead of the night.
On the Warbirds side of the ball, Ogunjemilusi finished the game with 32 carries, 252 yards and three touchdowns.
Gregory (4-0) stays in the thick of things with a tough contest against Woonsocket/Wessington Springs/Sanborn Central in Gregory.
"We need to focus on the next game. This just proves that we can beat anyone in our class," Allmendinger said. "It's a big confidence boost for our team but we can't let it go to our heads."
The Warbirds (4-1) play Sunshine Bible Academy at home on Friday.
"You win some and you lose some," Warbirds coach Gordon Hooks said. "We just move on to the next game and take it one game at a time. We have to work on our defense this week, we had some blown coverages and we'll look at it this week."
Scoring summary
First quarter
WW: Devante Luellman 8 run (conversion failed)
WW: Austin Kemnitz 16 run (conversion good)
G: Jayd VanDerWerff 3 pass from Andy McCance (conversion good)
Second quarter
WW: Darian Ogunjemilusi 10 run (conversion good)
G: VanDerWerff 20 pass from McCance (pass good)
WW: Ogunjemilusi 1 run (conversion failed)
Third quarter
G: McCance 1 run (pass good)
WW: Kemnitz 3 run (run good)
Fourth quarter
G: Robert Vomacka 2 pass from McCance (conversion good)
WW: Ogunjemilusi 36 run (conversion good)
G: J.J. Beck 32 pass from McCance (conversion good)
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