By Kris Freeman
White House Football

For these 40 minutes of frosh play, it was all Big Byrd.

Fullback/Linebacker Zach Byrd completed a solid effort Thursday night for the White House Blue Devils when he sealed a victory over Creek Wood with his second interception of the game in the fourth quarter on the visitors' final drive.

Byrd rushed eight times for 137 yards and two touchdowns, picked off two passes, had a sack and 12 tackles as the freshmen Blue Devils moved to 4-0 on the season with a 38-24 victory. White House scored the first 16 points of the game and final 22, rallying when Creek Wood took a 24-16 lead in the third quarter.

Bryan Dixon opened the scoring in the first quarter with a 44-yard run and bookended his night with a 46-yard punt return in the fourth quarter for a touchdown, rushing nine times for 103 yards in the game and making 12 tackles on defense.

His big run in the first came at the 8:24 mark, and soon Byrd followed with a 52-yard rumble with Jeff Edgar completing both of the two-point conversions for a 16-0 lead. Edgar once ran, and the second time caught a pass from Aussie Light and White House was out of the gate with an early advantage.

However, Creek Wood took advantage of a White House miscue inside its own five in the second quarter, as Light and Jacob Upchurch lost the handle on the exchange and one play later, Creek Wood had cut the lead to 16-8. The visitors came back to tie the game with 20 seconds left in the first half, making it 16-16 at the intermission.

White House surrendered a 15-play, 70-yard drive to Creek Wood to start the third for a 24-16 score, but quickly came back with a 51-yard run from Zach Byrd with Dixon running in the two-point conversion for a tie game at the 1:30 mark of the third period, 24-24.

Byrd's first interception put White House back in business with a nine-yard return to the Creek Wood 31-yard-line, and two plays later, Light hit Edgar for 30 yards and a touchdown. Edgar's third two-point conversion was good on the run and White House led, 32-24.

Byrd's sack of 11 yards put Creek Wood in a quick hole and Dixon ended the scoring three plays following with the 46-yard return, but Light's two-point pass was tipped and intercepted for the 38-24 final.

White House rushed 25 times for 281 yards and Light added 30 through the air on his only pass attempt. Creek Wood managed 195 yards on 55 plays, dominating time of possession, as White House ran only 25 plays from scrimmage but scored on big plays often.

Edgar had 14 tackles in the game and Will Banks added 11 stops. Rob Poindexter added two sacks for the hosts.