Wesleyan advances to the second round of the playoffs after improving their record to nine and two with a 45-27 win over Model. The number two seed Blue Devils had home field advantage in Rome. The Wolves came back firing on all cylinders after a close loss in the region championship.
Wesleyan was very productive on offense all night, but got off to a rocky start defensively in the first half. “The offense has really hit full stride in the last two games,” said senior Tucker Cannon. Cannon scored the first touchdown of the night with a 60-yard reception from sophomore Banks Ramsey. He later scored twice more and went for over 200 yards.
Wesleyan was able to make a stop after the touchdown, but the following drive, Model corner Brendan Thomas jumped a screen pass and ran the interception back 70 yards for a touchdown. The extra point was no good.
The second quarter 
began and Wesleyan responded with a successful drive ending in a 10-yard touchdown run by senior Josh Garrard. Though the Wolves’ offense continued to move the ball, Model responded again. Chris Dublin showed impressive speed, breaking away for a touchdown run of over 60 yards. The Wolves scored twice more in the first half with a 10-yard run by senior Jordan Argilagos and a 45-yard field goal by senior Jordan Weaver. Argilagos had a big game with two touchdowns and over 200 total rushing yards.
Model scored once more with two minutes left in the half on a short run by Kyler Eldridge but the two point conversion pass was intercepted by Cannon. Wesleyan quickly drove down to Model’s 20-yard-line, but with some miscommunication allowed to clock to run out before they had a chance to try and score at the end of the half. The score entering the second half was 24-19.
Wesleyan made some adjustments defensively and only let up one touchdown in the second half. Continued success on offense led to three more touchdowns. Cannon scored two more times, and Argilagos broke a 35 yard run for six. These two playmakers helped the Wolves maintain a balanced attack along with Ramsey who threw with great accuracy all night. Model scored the last touchdown with a ten-yard run by Eldridge.
Next week, Wesleyan will play Jefferson County in Louisville, GA. All four teams from region 6AA moved on to the second round. In regards to the challenge ahead, Cannon said, “Jefferson County has a lot of athletic ability and speed, but if Banks keeps throwing the ball the way he is right now, no defense can stop us.”
