Derek Wagstaff leads Needles past The Meadows

Derek Wagstaff ran for three touchdowns and had an interception on defense to help Needles to a 36-0 home win over The Meadows in the Class 2A state quarterfinals.

“Just lucky to be coaching him,” Needles coach Matt Fromelt said of Wagstaff. “He’s a gamer and the best player in our league.”

Wagstaff rushed for 187 yards on 23 carries.

Jayden Yeager ran for a touchdown and threw a 15-yard scoring strike to Gilman Jenkins for Needles (9-1), which will play at Pershing County (10-0) in a state semifinal at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 12. Yeager completed 6 of 12 passes for 93 yards.

“I just liked that we played both sides of the ball well,” Fromelt said. “We executed on offense and the defense, obviously, pitched us the shutout. We played well.”

The Meadows finished 5-4.