Warrenton football coach Ken Moore couldn’t pinpoint one particular area that doomed his team on Friday night.

The Warriors gave visiting Zumwalt East a three touchdown cushion before unleashing a desperate comeback effort that fell short in a 35-26 defeat.

Travis Doyle hauled in a touchdown catch as time expired on the Warriors’ rally.

The Lions moved to 3-0 in the GAC North and have gained at least temporary control of the conference. Warrenton fell to 3-1 and will travel to Zumwalt South this Saturday at 1 p.m.

Zumwalt East scored the first three touchdowns on Friday, before the Warriors countered with three unanswered scores of their own.

Hype had consumed both schools over what was considered a pivotal meeting in the conference race. And banter about which schools quarterback was better fueled the intensity.

“There was no question that this was a big test for each of the teams involved,” said Zumwalt East coach Scott Eacret.

Both signal callers carried considerable weight in their team’s performance on Friday. Zumwalt East quarterback Marvin Byrd III struggled in the passing game but made up for it with his work on the ground. Byrd ran for three touchdowns and 164 yards on 28 carries. But he completed just 3 of 13 passes and was picked off on three occasions.

One glaring statistic that is offset by the fact Warrenton failed to score on all three of those turnovers.

“Anytime you have turnovers and your defense can respond, that’s big,” said Eacret. “We told them in the locker room, it’s about who can control the ball.”

Warrenton signal caller Scotty Lathrop had the edge in the passing game, connecting on 14 of 29 attempts. He ran for 93 yards on 20 carries.

Warrenton’s defense set the tone immediately, as Devin Roberts intercepted Byrd on the first play from scrimmage. The Warriors took over possession on the Lions’ 47-yard line but were unable to score after being stopped in the running game.

Each team split unsuccessful drives, before Byrd punched in a 13-yard run with 3:27 remaining in the first quarter.

Warrenton fumbled at midfield on its next possession, and Byrd marched downfield, again scoring on a 13-yard run. The Lions went ahead 14-0 early in the second period.

A flurry of frustrations continued on the next drive as a penalty negated a 41-yard run by Lathrop, and he was picked off on the very next play.

Byrd hit Brandon Barrett on a 40-yard scoring toss, as Zumwalt East shot ahead 21-0 with 9:29 remaining in the half.

“The first half was horrendous for us,” said Moore. “We haven’t played a half like that this entire year. We kind of let them get a hold of us and get away with it.”

The Warriors were finally able to regain their composure right before the break, as junior Austin Black rumbled in for a 43-yard touchdown to give Warrenton new life.

The Warriors carried that positive energy into the second half, looking to cut into a 21-6 deficit.

“When we went into halftime, we basically explained to our guys that we know they are a better team had been shown in the first half,” said Moore.

“They were getting that momentum in the second half, especially when they converted two fourth downs,” added Eacret. “They made some nice adjustments.”

Lathrop connected with Doyle on an 18-yard touchdown strike on fourth down with 7:06 left in the third. Lathrop added a two-point conversion run to pull the Warriors within one touchdown.

“In the second half, our kids really responded, and a lot of momentum started coming our way,” said Moore. “We were able to make a couple of adjustments and started getting the ball to Nick Todd.”

Warrenton closed the gap on the last play of the third quarter, as Lathrop hit Black on a 22-yard touchdown pass. The extra point failed, with the Warriors facing a 21-20 deficit.

Eacret says his team struggled to shut down the Warriors rushing game.

“The problem was tackling Mr. Lathrop and Mr. Black,” said Eacret. “Lathrop is such an elusive runner and Black is so physical that it makes a pretty good one-two punch to try to stop.”

The Warriors’ attempt to take a lead faded as multiple passes were dropped in the end zone.

Zumwalt East’s line was able to take control in the waning moments, allowing its offense to score a pair of deflating touchdowns.

“They were being really aggressive and physical up front,” said Moore. “It was hard to keep our quarterback in the pocket.”

Christian Brooks danced in from 10 yards out with 4:25 remaining, and Byrd added another 13-yard run with 1:25 left.