By JIM WALKER

Tribune Sports Editor

WELLSTON — The Wellston Golden Rockets were able to build a cushion and then use it to get comfortable.

Wellston built a 20-7 halftime lead and went on to beat the Fairland Dragons 33-15 on Friday.

“Field position was big. We didn’t make them go very far,” said Fairland coach Dave Carroll. “At times we stopped them and at times we didn’t. We’re just really young and it showed.”

Wellston (3-2) racked up 535 total yards with 337 coming on the ground. Quarterback Jaylen Prater was 14 of 18 for 198 yards and a touchdown.

Michael Downer had seven carries for 134 yards. D.J. Young added 75 yards on 12 carries.

Fairland (1-4) ran for 153 yards and threw for 83. Tyree Ceasar had 15 carries for 60 yards and Evan Maddox 47 yards on seven rushes.

Quarterback Kyle Sowards hit 4 of 7 passes for 83 yards with two interceptions.

Downer ran 65 yards on a third and 12 play with 10:50 left in the first quarter to give Wellston a 6-0 lead.

Young went 5 yards to score on the first play of the second quarter and also kicked the extra point for a 13-0 lead. The run capped a 53-yard, 4-play drive.

Fairland cut the deficit to 13-7 on a 35-yard pass play from Sowards to Nathan Campbell who also kicked the extra point. The play came on a fourth-and-25.

But two minutes later Tyler Roach ran 1 yard for a touchdown to cap a 67-yard march and Wellston was in front 20-7 at the half.

The third quarter was scoreless thanks to a defensive stand by the Dragons. Eric Riley knocked the ball loose near the goal line and Jared Galloway recovered.

But Wellston then went on a 54-yard, 5-play drive and Prater hit Austin Craig with a 12-yard touchdown pass with 11:05 to play and it was 26-7.

Tyler Roach added a 1-yard scoring run with 8:07 to play that extended the lead to 33-7.

The Dragons closed out the scoring with a 5-yard run by Sowards. Campbell ran for the conversion.

Evan Maddox had a big night on kickoff returns. He ran back four kicks for 130 yards.

Fairland 0 7 0 8 = 15

Wellston 6 14 0 13 = 33

First Quarter

We – Michael Downer 65 run (kick failed) 10:50

Second Quarter

We – D.J. Young 5 run (D.J. Young kick) 11:55 4-53 F penalty

Fa – Nathan Campbell 35 pass from Kyle Sowards (Nathan Campbell kick) 4:38

We – Tyler Roach 1 run (D.J. Young kick) 2:34

Fourth Quarter

We – Austin Craig 12 pass from Jaylen Prater (pass failed) 11:05

We – Tyler Roach 1 run (D.J. Young kick) 8:07

Fa – Kyle Sowards 5 run (Nathan Campbell run) 2:59

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Fa We

First downs 13 23

Rushes-yards 41-153 41-337

Passing yards 83 198

Total yards 236 535

Cmp-Att-Int 4-7-2 14-18-0

Fumbles-lost 3-1 4-2

Penalties-yards 5-56.5 12-127

Punts-average 5-32.8 2-41.0

Individual Leaders

RUSHING–Fairland: Tyree Ceasar 15-60, Evan Maddox 7-47, Nathan Campbell 7-24, Eric Riley 5-11, Kyle Sowards 7-11; Wellston: D.J. Young 12-75, Tyler Roach 8-34, Jaylen Prater 7-47, Michael Downer 7-134,Cain Wolford 5-33, Ernest Brown 1-10, Noah Massie 1-4, Jake Waldron 1-minus 1, team 1-minus 1.

PASSING–Fairland: Kyle Sowards 4-7-2 83; Wellston: Jaylen Prater 14-18-0 203.

RECEIVING–Fairland: Eric Riley 2-36, Nathan Campbell 1-35, Blaine Fuller 1-12; Wellston: Austin Craig 8-121, Dakota Brown 2-40, Ernest Brown 2-13, Michael Grey 1-19, Michael Downer 1-5.