Warriors slay Dragons 54-13

On Sept. 25, the White County Warriors soundly defeated the visiting York Dragons by a score of 54-13.  The Warrior defense shined all night by stopping a Dragon offense that came into the game with no offensive touchdowns all season.

The Warrior offense did their part by scoring 54 points to seal the victory.  The Warriors scored first when DJ Paul weaved his way into the endzone for a six-yard touchdown run, with 54.1 seconds left to play in the first quarter.  Malaki Dowell would add a second score when he broke several tackles and then outran the York defense for a 60 yard touchdown run to move the score to 14-0, with 11:37 to play in the second quarter.  Dowell found Kade Clark on the left flat, and Clark did the rest by rambling 33 yards to paydirt on the touchdown pass, with 7:47 left to play in the second quarter.  Dawson Stewart’s extra points made the score 21-0 in the first half.  York got on the board when a Warrior screen pass was intercepted and returned 75 yards for a Dragon touchdown.  The extra point was no good, and, at the intermission, the score was Sparta 21 and York 6.

The second half saw more of the Warrior defense dominate the York offense and allowed the offense great field position to start each drive.  Dowell scored his third rushing touchdown when he broke free for a 16-yard run, with 11:46 to play in the third quarter.  Clark scored his second touchdown on a seven-yard run, with 11:46 to play in the fourth quarter.  Hunter Pope scored on a three-yard run, with 11:07 to play in the fourth quarter.  Caleb Bailey added another score with a four-yard touchdown run, with 4:35 left to play in the game.  York would add a 33- yard touchdown run for their first offensive touchdown of the season, with 2:51 to play in the game.  Jaden Simpson added the final score for the Warriors, with 1:22 to play with a 14-yard touchdown run.  The final score was 54-13 in favor of the Warriors.

York’s offense rushed for 172 yards, and they passed for 22 yards for a total of 194 yards of offense.  The Warriors dominated the game on both sides of the ball.  Owen Adams rushed two times for 14 yards.  Caleb Bailey rushed nine times for 18 yards and a touchdown.  Jaden Simpson rushed three times for 34 yards and a touchdown.  DJ Paul rushed five times for 17 yards and a touchdown.  Kade Clark rushed three times for 15 yard and a touchdown.  Hunter Pope added a touchdown by rushing one time for three yards.  Malaki Dowell led the Warriors in rushing, with 13 carries for 159 yards and two touchdowns.  Owen Adams passed three times for two completions and 39 yards.  Malaki Dowell completed nine passes on 19 attempts for 141 yards.  Rushing yards for the Warriors was 260.  Passing yards for the two quarterbacks was 180 for a total offensive output of 440 yards. 

Coach Mark Frasier commented on the win.

“It’s nice to get a win,” Frasier said. “More importantly, we played with passion tonight.  We have to continue that each game, and I think these kids will.  The bye week came at a good time. Hopefully, we can get healthy and be ready for a good Livingston team in two weeks.”

Defensive Coordinator Curtis Beaty stated, “It was nice seeing the defense running to the ball and forcing a few turnovers again. Asked guys like Jack Guy and Kolton Dolnich to step up due to injuries and quarantines, and they did a great job for us tonight. Hopefully, we will heal up over this bye week.”

Coach Greg Segraves also commented on the offense during the game.

“It’s always a fun game when you score a lot of points and several kids get involved in the game plan,” Segraves said. “If I’m not mistaken, Hunter Pope scored his first rushing TD. Caleb Bailey scored his first TD as well. It was a physical game. I thought our OL fought extremely hard. I’m really proud of Nate Martin for how he has stepped up and helped this football team. Of course, we have to wait and see the results for Malaki Dowell. He has worked so hard, and he’s our leader. We run our offense around him and our fullbacks. I thought Owen Adams  came in and did a good job. The open week couldn’t have come at a better time.

The Warriors move to 2-3 on the season and have next week off for their bye week on the schedule.