If you asked Head Coach Jason Koper what being a two-time consecutive conference champion feels like, he probably would respond with chilly. 

In a battle of unbeaten squads, the Warriors had a  42-21 victory over Orchard Farm to claim the GAC North Conference title on Oct. 18. To commemorate the moment, Koper was dunked with icy cold water on a cool night not once, not twice, but three times by his overzealous players. 

“I don’t try to talk about our goals too often, but that was one of the goals we had this year was to get a conference champ repeat,” Koper said. “They did a great job. They battled through and we had some adversity early on and they just kept working and working and getting better.”

Koper praised the offensive line not only for the team’s big win, but their performance year-round. 

“Our line players are just tremendous this year,” Koper said. “They’ve done a great job, and they buy into their job and I just couldn’t be more proud of them.” 

Quarterback Brandon Johnson played a massive role in the Warriors’ win with two rushing touchdowns and one touchdown pass. Johnson said he knew Orchard Farm would be a tough team, but ultimately they had to trust in their abilities. 

“We were probably the most locked in we’ve ever been this week,” Johnson said. “We knew how to come out and win, stop the offense, keep scoring and that’s what we did.” 

Coming into halftime, Johnson said the score should not have been as close as it was with Warrenton leading 21-14, but he noted all they had to do was play the second half and not worry about the first half, which is exactly what they did. 

Going into the latter part of the game, the Warriors put up 21 more points and limited the Eagles to only seven. 

“They focused on our responsibilities and assignments in the second half and really cleaned it up,” Koper said. “First half didn’t go quite the way we wanted it to, but to come out in the second half and play like we did, it’s just a testament to how good of quality, young men [they are] and their effort.” 

Koper also credited the team for eliminating some big plays, a goal they had set before the game. 

“We had a couple stands by Austin White and I felt like that was a critical moment in the game to go get that one,” Koper said. “Just lots of big plays from these guys and everytime we need a big play, somebody steps up and makes it.” 

On top of a momentous win, Javon Jones broke the school record for career sacks, which he now holds at 23. Jones broke the record after sacking the quarterback in the third quarter. 

For the past two years, the team has been rallying around the mentality of “one game at a time.” 

“I feel like we played, for the most part, better every game, except for a few mistakes to start off the first half. I thought we’d been better every game,” Koper said. “That’s an incredible win for our program and they’re a very talented team, so hats off to them.” 

The Warriors have now won their 17th consecutive regular season game. Warrenton improves to 8-0 and 5-0 in the GAC North. Meanwhile, Orchard Farm drops to 7-1 overall and 4-1 in the conference. Warrenton also moved up one spot in the St. Louis Metro area small school rankings, which they are now ranked at fifth. 

The Warriors will play their last regular season game at Fort Zumwalt South this Friday, Oct. 25. Kickoff will be at 7 p.m. 

Overall, White had one touchdown reception and one interception. Austin Haas had two rushing touchdowns and Jones had one rushing touchdown. The Warrenton defense wreaked havoc on the offense once again with five players recording sacks. Two were from Jake Mincher, while Cole Meyer, Kyle Lauck, Jones and Taylor Anderson all had one. Treyvian Guthrie recorded 10 tackles and Kadin Stroer had nine tackles. 

Haas rushed for 213 yards on 26 carries. Johnson completed six passes for 98 yards and rushed 100 yards on 11 carries. Tyler Faerber made five extra points and Mason Thompson recorded one.