Providence Christian thumps Wicksburg

WICKSBURG — The last thing a depleted Wicksburg team needed was to see a dominant rushing attack.

But that’s what they got, as Providence Christian didn’t complete a pass but ran for 370 yards in a 31-14 win.

Freshman Kyle Eriksen was the star of the show, running 21 times for 167 yards, three touchdowns and a 2-point conversion.

Eriksen’s 56-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter gave the Eagles a 24-14 lead. He ran for touchdowns of 14 and 6 yards in the second quarter.

“He’s had some games earlier in the year where he did well, but by far that was his best game,” Providence coach Emory Latta said. “He’s a good running back. He’s going to be special.”

Banks Smith ran for 92 yards on 19 carries and a 1-yard score, and Sterling Gatlin ran for 80 yards on 11 carries.

Wicksburg, which ended the season on a three-game losing streak, has lost eight starters during the season with injuries.

“We didn’t have enough meat up there to (stop the PCS run game),” Panthers coach Danny Whiddon said. “We’ve got two big linemen, and that’s it. All the other ones are hurt.

“We just ran out of gas. We don’t have a lot of players to play.”

Wicksburg finished the year at 3-7. Providence, which plays at Sweet Water in the Class 1A playoffs, finished 6-4 to clinch a winning record.

The Panthers, which lost starting quarterback Evan Smith to a serious leg injury last week, had to revamp their whole offense in just a few days. Chad Holley and Andrew Jones took snaps in a pistol formation.

It worked early, but Providence held Wicksburg to just one first down in the second half and recovered three Wicksburg fumbles.

“We did what we could do with what we had,” Whiddon said. “It worked for a while, but they caught on.”

Providence lost fumbles on its first two drives but didn’t have to punt all game.

“We executed offensively after the second turnover as well as we ever had,” Latta said. “The defense accepted the challenge and played better in the second half, too.”

Wicksburg led 6-0 in the first on an 11-yard touchdown run by Jones. Providence tied it at 6-all early in the second and went ahead 14-6 after recovering a fumble at the Panther 35 when Eriksen scored from 14 out and ran in the 2-point play.

The Panthers tied it at 14-all with 2:45 left in the first half when Holley hit Blake Sims with a 27-yard touchdown pass on a fourth-and-7 play. Holley ran in the 2-point play.

Smith kicked a 20-yard field goal with six seconds left in the first half for a 17-14 PCS lead. The Eagles iced it with Eriksen’s 56-yard run in the third and Smith’s 1-yard score in the fourth.

“You’re never supposed to feel like you have it in the bag, but after those couple of scores, we did,” Eagles lineman Hap Howell said.

Next week, Providence goes on the road to face No. 1 Sweet Water, which has won three straight Class 1A titles.

“We’re very aware of what Sweet Water is and what they mean to Class 1A football, but we’re going to give it our best and see what happens,” Eagles lineman Trey Wisdom said.