Big things come in small packages.
More specifically, out of the pistol and shotgun formation.
Senior quarterback A.J. Small accounted for four touchdowns as the P.K. Yonge Blue Wave defeated the Eastside Rams, 36-16, at Citizen’s Field on Friday night.
Small, who was named the Sonic Drive-In Player of the Game, threw two TDs and ran for two scores as the Blue Wave (1-0) broke open a close game late in the first half and cruised to victory.
It gave new head coach Kevin Doelling his first win at P.K. Yonge.
“I’m happy,” Doelling said. “I’m proud of my guys. They fought through some adversity. We had some expectations for tonight and I think they did a great job of upholding our expectations.”
Eastside transfer KJ Wooden put the Blue Wave on the scoreboard first with a 10-yard scoring run to cap an 81-yard drive on the P.K. Yonge’s first possession.
Small threw a 23-yard TD pass to Jaren Hamilton, the first of two scores for the duo, to give P.K. Yonge a 14-0 lead with 3:02 to play in the first quarter.
Eastside was able to close the gap to 14-9 on a 12-yard scoring pass from quarterback Holden Johnson to Daniel Fudge with :45 to play in the half. That seized the momentum, but it didn’t last long.
That’s when Small came up big.
The senior weaved his way down the left sideline for an 80-yard touchdown run to give the Blue Wave a 20-9 lead at the half.
“I feel like it shifted the momentum a lot because the team was down and that big play just gave us a lot of energy.”
Small, who added a 55-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, was happy with the win but he feels like the team can improve.
“It feels amazing but we have a lot of work to do,” Small said. “We didn’t capitalize on a lot of opportunities.”
P.K. Yonge will host Hawthorne next Friday, while Eastside (0-1) travels to Middleburg.