Football

Warriors come up void, despite yardage output

Derrick Forsythe, Correspondent
Posted 9/10/21

The importance of favorable field position was evident last Friday, as the Warrenton football team frequently found itself protecting its own territory. The Warriors’ defense was spread thin …

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Football

Warriors come up void, despite yardage output

Posted

The importance of favorable field position was evident last Friday, as the Warrenton football team frequently found itself protecting its own territory. The Warriors’ defense was spread thin trying to match up against the extremely balanced attack of Troy, resulting in a lopsided 72-12 Week 2 defeat.

Offensively, the numbers are potentially deceiving. Warrenton managed 333 total yards, compared to 498 by its opponent. But many of those yards came up void for Warrenton.

“They had a short field multiple times,” said Coach Jason Koper. “That was a real setback for us. They only scored one touchdown from the negative side of the field. That was their opening touchdown. Everything else they scored was inside the 50.”

The Trojans kept Warrenton guessing, as quarterback Charos Sutton dispersed the ball to eight different teammates and scored the first touchdown himself, on a three-yard run just over a minute into the game. Troy reached the end zone on every drive of the first half.

“They just had speed and skill at every position,” said Koper. “They ran the run-pass option and did a very good job of it, attacking our weak spots in the secondary. We got out of position in a couple of our coverages.”

The Warriors trailed 21-0 before finally getting on the board, when quarterback Caelon Weir found fellow senior Joe Evans on a 77-yard touchdown strike.

“Joe had a great breakaway on the play,” said Koper. “Weir threw a perfect ball, Evans high-pointed it, broke a tackle and was off to the races.”

Troy would then counter with six unanswered scores to take a commanding 65-12 lead into halftime.

Senior Issiah Jones added Warrenton’s only other touchdown on a 50-yard pass from Weir at the 5:00 mark of the second quarter.

“Offensively, we had other chances,” said Koper. “In the first quarter we dropped a pass on third and eight that would’ve resulted in first down and missed a few open throws. We threw an interception in the first quarter that Troy returned to the seven-yard line.”

Both teams then remained scoreless until midway through the fourth quarter, when Troy scored the only touchdown of the second half on a 20-yard run.

“One real bright side was our offensive line play was actually quite a bit better than it had been against Liberty,” said Koper. “We gave Caelon some time to throw. Austin Johnson did really well at tackle place and T.J. Ray did a better job on the offensive line.”

Weir finished with 211 passing yards, completing 12 of 28 attempts for two touchdowns to three interceptions. His primary targets were senior Kolby Meine with five catches for 37 yards, while Evans snagged three receptions for 99 yards. Junior Colton Brosenne added three catches for 25 yards.

Koper also continued to see the emergence of his freshmen class, as Mason Stout had three quarterback hurries and a fumble recovery. Additionally, newcomer Carter Tittel led the way, along with Meine, with five tackles. Johnson also had a fumble recovery.

Junior Joe Goldsmith paced the Warriors with 86 rushing yards on nine carries, while Jones had 39 yards on 10 carries.
The Warriors (0-2) were scheduled to host Washington Friday. However, the game is cancelled due to COVID-19 quarantines.


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