Warrenton scored a pair of touchdowns in the last two minutes of the third quarter to take control of the game in Friday’s conference win over Orchard Farm.
Charlie Blondin threw two of his four touchdown passes in the last 1:32 of the third quarter in Warrenton’s 35-25 win over Orchard Farm. Blondin threw an 80-yard touchdown to Mason Thompson with 1:32 left in the third quarter to give Warrenton (3-5) a 21-17 lead over Orchard Farm after Orchard Farm opened the third quarter with 10 points to take a 17-14 lead.
“That play from Blondin to Thompson is something we worked on several times this week,” Warrenton football coach Jason Koper said. “We had it in the first quarter for a touchdown but Blondin just barely overthrew him. It was just one of those things as coaches that was one of the things we scouted and did a good job picking up on that. A little coverage flaw. It was a perfect throw.”
Blondin threw another touchdown pass to Thompson on the last play of the third quarter to give Warrenton a 28-17 lead. The 11-yard touchdown pass followed Orchard Farm’s fumble on the ensuing kickoff after the 80-yard touchdown.
Orchard Farm scored a touchdown with 6:32 left in the fourth quarter to trim the Warrenton lead to 28-25. Warrenton iced the game on Austin Haas’ touchdown run in Eagle territory with just under three minutes left in the game.
“It was just a last minute adjustment that we decided that we thought they had a little weakness there …We took that timeout to set up that last play and Jack (Morris) executed perfectly. Evan Schenck executed perfectly and Haas took it to the house. That was a great play. Great execution by our guys. Very proud of them to step up in that situation.”
Warrenton opened the game with a 7-0 lead after Blondin threw a touchdown pass to Colton Brosenne. After Orchard Farm tied the game in the second quarter, Blondin threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Brosenne with 24 seconds left in the first half.
“It helped just from a momentum standpoint,” Koper said. “And it proved to be real helpful in the second half. Just to have some confidence because we were so close in the first quarter to having a few big plays.”
Koper thought Friday’s game was the most complete game the Warriors have played all season. He credited the offensive line’s performance in the game. Koper challenged the offensive line to put forth a strong performance against Orchard Farm.
“The one thing that I felt we were weak on the last couple of weeks was our offensive line,” Koper said. “I challenged them this week. I got onto them pretty hard and I said boys, I’ve got to have you step up. Everywhere else has stepped up. I need you to step up and they stepped up big. That was the best game they played.”
Blondin finished the game with 259 passing yards and four touchdowns for the Warriors. Haas rushed for 145 yards and one touchdown. Thompson led the Warriors with 125 yards receiving. Defensively, Aidan Bond led the Warriors with seven tackles. Brosenne and Quincy Dodson each recorded an interception. Cole Meyer recovered a fumble. Meyer, Cameron Faerber, Jacob Ruff and Kadin Stroer each recorded a sack.
Warrenton will conclude the regular season this Friday with a road game against Mexico. The game is slated to begin at 7 p.m.