By Craig Brown
Dillon Christian’s #8 Mark Minges breaks a tackle after catching a pass from Will Brown. (Photos by Craig Brown.)
Several Warriors were playing both sides of the ball due to injuries and were worn down late in the fourth quarter. Add to this a gross number of penalties, a couple of costly mistakes, and two very costly flags thrown in error against the Warriors resulted in the loss.
The first quarter of this defensive battle ended with no score. With 7:29 left in the second quarter, Kelvin Stackhouse got the Warriors on the board with a one yard touchdown run. Will Brown’s extra point kick put the Warriors up 7-0. The first half would end with this score.
The War Hawks received the kick to start the second half. The War Hawk strategy in the second half was to take advantage of the Warrior down linemen and linebackers playing both sides of the ball. The War Hawks drove the ball 75 yards on short yardage running plays up the middle and off tackle with Joseph Maglida getting the touchdown on a 3-yard run. Bradly Hudson tied the game at 7-7 with his kick. Only 3:37 remained in the third quarter following the drive, and the quarter would end with this score.
The War Hawks got a break on a fourth and one play. The War Hawk tailback started toward the line before the ball was snapped, actually moving a step and a half before the Warrior down linemen reacted. Call it temporary blindness or whatever but the referees only saw the Warrior linemen move giving the War Hawks a first down to keep the drive alive.
In the fourth quarter, Warrior tailback Kelvin Stackhouse broke three tackles at the line of scrimmage and raced 52 yards for a touchdown. The play was called back as a result of offsetting penalties. Watching the play from the field and later reviewing the game film, I could not see either of these calls. There was some contact but not to the extent a penalty on either team warranted a flag in my opinion. In either case, Stackhouse was so far ahead of the field it would not have mattered anyway.
With 4:56 left in the fourth, Joseph Maglida scored on a 6-yard run. Taking advantage of an offside Warrior penalty, the War Hawks went for two with Will Carter taking it across the line to put the War Hawks up 15-7. The Warriors were intercepted on the next drive but the defense held and forced a punt. The War Hawk punter fumbled the ball twice and the Warriors blew an opportunity by no one rushing the punt that would have given them the ball around the War Hawk 20-yard line. The War Hawk punter recovered and put the Warriors deep in their own territory. The Warriors managed to get to mid-field before the drive was halted. The War Hawks offense then took a knee and ran the clock out to secure the win.
On offense for the Warriors, Will Brown was 9 of 17 passing for 117 yards and three interceptions and was sacked once. Kelvin Stackhouse had 70 yards on 15 carries with a touchdown and had one 52-yard touchdown run called back. Mark Minges caught five passes for 66 yards, Luke Price caught three passes for 42 yards, and Ellison Rourke caught a pass for nine yards.
On defense, Luke Price had 10 tackles, eight assists with an interception; Mathew Price had eight tackles, 15 assists; Ben Boykin had eight tackles, 13 assists; Jake Boykin had seven tackles, seven assists; Ellison Rourke had five tackles, 11 assists, and an interception with an 18-yard return; Mark Minges had five tackles, nine assists and a QB sack; Heath Freitas had four tackles with an assist; Douglas Bullock had three tackles, 10 assists, and a QB sack assist; Michael Minges had two tackles, four assists; David Williams added a tackle with three assists; Hunter Tyner had six tackle assists; Will Brown, Kelvin Stackhouse, and Jim Carr added two tackle assists each; Bradley Patterson added a tackle assist; and Thomas Evans added a tackle with two assists.
Evans left the game and was taken to the hospital with a knee injury. His condition and recovery time is unknown at this time.
The loss was a bitter medicine to swallow but Warrior Head Coach Christian Wolfe and his staff will be working to correct mistakes and have the Warriors prepared for this Friday night. The Warriors will be at home to host The King’s Academy with game time set for 7:30 p.m.
Photos by Craig Brown. Click images below to view at full size!
