A lot was riding on the line in the KSR Game of the Week as the No. 22 Woodford County Yellow Jackets marched onto No. 23 Pulaski County‘s home field to try and spoil homecoming night while bringing home their fifth win of the season.

With a win, Dennis Johnson’s team would move to 5-0 on the year. They hadn’t done that since the 2022 season when they got the year started with nine consecutive wins.

As for the Maroons, a win would firmly put them in place as one of the best teams in all of 5A. Playing No. 15 Beechwood down to the final play to open the season was impressive, but getting a win over Woodford County would be huge for their momentum for the rest of the year.

So, when the dust finally settled, it was Woodford County who came out on top, winning 31-22 against Pulaski County.

To get things started for the Yellow Jackets, senior wideout Jalen Johnson reeled in a pass from senior quarterback Justus Wertzler for a touchdown. Then, Wertzler found sophomore wideout Omari Jointer for a touchdown as well. Just like that, it was 14-0 Yellow Jackets with only four minutes having gone by.

Pulaski County would get themselves on the board via a long rushing touchdown from sophomore running back Kasen Brock, but Omari Jointer’s second touchdown reception of the game would make it 21-7 Woodford County.

It seemed like the Maroons just couldn’t keep up. Every time they’d gain momentum, the Yellow Jackets would take it right back. However, coming out of the half, senior receiver Harris Denmyer would turn the tables with an unreal touchdown reception to make it a 21-14 game with eight minutes to go in the third quarter.

After Woodford County scored off a quarterback keeper from Wertzler, Brock would punch it in on the goal line on the other side of the field. With just over four minutes to go in the game, Pulaski had trimmed the lead to nine, making it a 31-22 game.

However, after getting the ball back, the Maroons would turn it over on downs, and Woodford County would kneel it out, advancing to 5-0 on the year.

After a big-time performance, Wertzler talked with KSR about the team’s effort and how they overcame adversity to get a huge road win. Despite some sickness floating around the team and a trip to California and back, Dennis Johnson still had high expectations for this team heading into the game.

“It feels great to be 5-0 heading into the bye week,” Wertzler said. “I feel confident in our team. There were huge expectations from Coach Johnson. He’s a hard worker. He expected us to get back to work, and we did that.

“We got a lot of effort from the defense. There were drives when the offense wasn’t stepping up. Our defense had our backs. That’s what’s gonna take us far — having each other’s backs.”

KSR also caught up with Dennis Johnson, who was proud of his team’s effort this week.

“We got back Monday late,” Johnson explained. “So, we practiced on Tuesday and Wednesday. I knew what kind of game it was gonna be. [Pulaski County has] done a great job. They’re a physical football team. It was good for us to play them. I like my team. It feels good to be 5-0. I’m excited about my team. I love my group.”

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