It’s over.  No.  It’s completely over.  Waynesville’s run toward an extended football post-season ended Friday night with a crushing 21-17 home loss to Columbia Battle.  The game ended the 33-year WHS coaching career of Hall of Fame Coach Rick Vernon, who is retiring in May. 

Battle scored the winning touchdown on a four-yard run with just 18.3 seconds remaining in the game.  The Tigers had taken their first lead just two-and-a-half minutes earlier when Jaylen Thomas followed a 41-yard run down the left sideline with a one-yard run up the middle to give WHS a 17-14 lead.   That score capped a beautiful 98-yard drive after a Battle punt took a favorable Spartan roll to the Tiger two-yard line.  The Tigers garnered six first downs in the drive which featured big gains by Thomas, Seth Hedrick, and Nigel Farmer. 

But Battle had just enough time left to turn the Tigers’ carriage back into a Halloween pumpkin.  A short Waynesville kickoff setup the Spartans from their own 46.  A 25-yard pass completion gave the Spartans a first down at the Tiger 29.  After the Tigers threw Battle for a loss back to the 34 and the Spartans threw an incomplete pass, it was third down and fifteen.  With the Waynesville crowd roaring, Battle managed to complete a first down pass at the 18.  A face mask penalty moved the ball to the three.  Battle was then out of time outs and after a loss of one, Nash Sutherlin hurriedly found a hole on his left side for the winning score. 

Desperate to move downfield quickly, the Tigers got a good kickoff return from Seth Hedrick to near midfield.  Quarterback Varon Martinez raced out of bounds at the Battle 40 with seconds remaining.  But Battle knew to expect the Hail Mary attempt and sacked Martinez as time ran out. 

The Tigers shot themselves in the foot early in the game when they lost a fumble on the opening kickoff return.  Battle’s first play from scrimmage was a 36-yard scoring strike and it was 7-0 just 15 seconds into the game.  After a Hedrick interception, Sam Thompson put the Tigers on the board with  20-yard field goal.  Still in the first quarter, Waynesville faked a second field goal attempt and threw an incomplete pass on fourth down.  Battle then put together an 87-yard drive to go up 14-3, but after Willie Parker picked off another Battle pass, Martinez hit Farmer with a 32-yard pass play  to make it 14-10 at halftime. 

Statistically, the game was very even with the teams  just ten yards apart in total offense.  The Tigers had 14 first downs, the Spartans 12.  Waynesville turned the ball over twice and Battle three times.  The game’s leading offensive player was Thomas with 111 yards on 16 carries.  The Tigers’ season ends at five and five, and Battle moves on to play at Camdenton next week.

Coach Vernon had numerous Conference and District titles during his tenure at Waynesville, capped by the team's State Championship in 2007.  Many of his players went on to collegiate careers and three reached the National Football League.