By Patrick MacCoon Record Sports Editor With 3:48 remaining in the first quarter, Warrenton had already matched its point total from the program’s first win against Washington last season. As …
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Warrenton falls in shootout
Posted
By Patrick MacCoonRecord Sports EditorWith 3:48 remaining in the first quarter, Warrenton had already matched its point total from the program’s first win against Washington last season.As junior running back Cameron Richardson raced down the Blue Jays’ sideline for a 66-yard touchdown run, the sea of Warrior faithful in the home bleachers grew with excitement following every long stride down the field.Despite momentum on their side early after taking a 14-6 lead, the Warriors came out on the wrong end of a 62-35 shootout against the Blue Jays Friday night. Warrenton was outgained 742-411 in total yards.“We didn’t tackle very well and had a lot of missed assignments defensively,” Head Coach Steve McDowell said. “For Week 4, we are going to have to be much more disciplined and do our jobs.”The Warriors (2-1) defense could not contain a high-powered attack for the Blue Jays (2-1).Junior quarterbacks Matt Hoemann and Trey Walsh combined to complete 19-of-25 pass attempts for 359 yards and four touchdowns while rushing for 155 yards on 14 carries and a score. Senior running back Jared Rennick provided the extra blow with 17 rushes for 129 yards and a season-high three touchdowns.“We had a hard time staying with them tonight and we will have to go back to practice and fix several things this week,” McDowell said. “This game could have been a whole lot closer if we don’t throw a pick six and miss some big tackles.”While starting quarterback Braydan Chmiel was out of town on a college visit to the United States Naval Academy, backup junior quarterback led two scoring drives to begin the game.“In our first two games we took a while to get going on offense,” McDowell said. “It was nice to have a game where we came out and scored on our first two possessions. We just have to put those type of consistent drives up throughout.”A weekly trend continued for Warrenton’s offense on its first scoring drive.For the third time in as many weeks, senior wide receiver Hunter Russell scored the opening touchdown for the Warriors.After luring his defender into thinking he was going to run a crossing route, Russell streaked toward the end zone and found just enough separation on a third-and-15 from the Blue Jays 30.Meine placed his throw where only Russell could catch it, which he did, as he dove with outstretched arms into the end zone for his fifth touchdown reception of the season.“Every week I’m thinking the whole time about how bad I want our team to score,” Russell said. “Meine threw up a good ball and I was able to break free and get under it to score.”Scoring just six points combined in the first quarter in its previous two contests, Warrenton led 7-6 with 6:13 left in the first quarter after a 70-yard scoring drive.“Being able to have Hunter score on those big plays does wonders for us,” McDowell said. “That way we can start hitting the underneath stuff and move the chains because teams are going to have to respect our deep threats.”While getting sacked six times and committing three turnovers, Meine hung in to complete 20-of-31 for 311 yards and threw four touchdowns.“Our offense did some things we didn’t think it would be capable of doing with Braydan gone,” McDowell said. “Drake stepped up and had a nice night. Overall, we did some nice jobs offensively.”Warrenton senior wide receiver Jack Darity ended a 35-0 run by a super-charged Washington offense as he hauled in a 56-yard score from Meine with 1:34 left before halftime.The score was Darity’s first of his career on a night where he also set a career-high with four catches for 85 yards.At halftime, Washington led 48-21 after trailing by one at the end of the first quarter.Richardson added on a 33-yard touchdown on a swing pass in the third quarter from Meine. The starting tailback for the Warriors finished with 86 rushing yards on 10 carries and also caught five passes for 47 yards.“Our plan was to build more plays around Cameron that get the ball in his hands in different situations,” McDowell said. “He’s the type of kid that can break the long play at any given time.”Russell ended the scoring in the fourth quarter with a 76-yard touchdown reception, his sixth of the season, with two minutes remaining. He finished with a season-high 133 receiving yards on six catches and scored twice for the third week in a row.“Hunter is an unbelievable receiver,” Washington Head Coach Zach Schneider said after the win Friday night on the road. “Even when we know where he was at, they could still get the ball to him. My hats off to Coach McDowell and his team because they are tough.”To begin the season, the Warriors have averaged 33.3 points per game, over half its average of 14.6 in 2014.“It’s kind of new for us to come out and have a lot of different weapons on offense,” McDowell said. “Last year we only scored 14 against Washington and this year we scored that many within the first eight minutes. It’s really nice to have that playmaking capability this year.”Warrenton will look for its offense to continue to succeed and its defense to regroup as it heads into a Week 4 home contest against a strong St. Charles team this Friday at 7 p.m.
Jacob Manion (36) runs down the sideline against Washington defender Trey Walsh (3). Manion finished with 29 rushing yards on three carries in a 62-35 loss to the Blue Jays Friday night. Patrick MacCoon photo.
