The Warrenton Warriors got off to a first half lead but ultimately fell to Mexico in their matchup last week. 

Warrenton (3-6) fell to Mexico 33-19. The Bulldogs scored 27 consecutive points in the second through fourth quarters after Warrenton jumped out to a 13-6 second quarter lead. 

After Mexico scored a minute into the first quarter, Warrenton responded with a pair of touchdowns to take a 13-6 lead. Aidan Bond caught a 2-yard touchdown pass on fourth down to put Warrenton on the board. Warrior quarterback Charlie Blondin threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Peyton Dawson in the second quarter to give Warrenton the lead. 

“Second drive, we had put in a little trick play to score there,” Warrenton football coach Jason Koper said. “Defensively, we allowed way too much room in the beginning of the game. They came out and scored on three plays. Our defense really played pretty well for most of the rest of the first half up until later on in the second quarter.”

With the Warriors leading 13-6, Warrenton muffed a Mexico punt, which the Bulldogs recovered. Mexico went on to score four straight touchdowns between the second and fourth quarters. The Bulldogs led 19-13 at halftime and 27-13 after three quarters. 

Koper thinks the fumble on the punt killed Warrenton’s momentum in the game. Koper added the Warriors made too many mistakes blocking and had poor execution on defense. He also thinks the Bulldogs were better defensively than some Warrior players gave them credit for. Koper also noted the challenges the Warriors faced with their bus breaking down on the way to the game. It killed their mentality the whole night, he said. 

“We were in the right spot and gave up a big touchdown,” Koper said. “Multiple times, really just didn’t execute. Didn’t make a play. Didn’t make a tackle. Same thing on offense. We had a couple chances to score a touchdown here and there. We miss a catch. So just too many mistakes to overcome.” 

Warrenton scored with just over four minutes left in the game. Running back Austin Haas picked up a fumble to score the last Warrior touchdown. 

Blondin threw for 284 yards in the loss. Haas led the Warriors with 79 yards rushing. Colton Brosenne and Peyton Dawson each had 83 yards receiving. Javon Blair and Kadin Stroer each had eight tackles. Jacob Ruff had one sack and one fumble recovery. 

Warriors to clash with Grizzlies in first round of districts 

Warrenton will host North Point Friday in the first round of the Class 4, District 5 tournament.

Warrenton (3-6) will host North Point (2-7) in the first round of the district tournament. Warrenton is seeded fourth in the district tournament. North Point is seeded fifth.

Warrenton football coach Jason Koper said the Warriors’ goal going into this week was to be healthy and get a home district playoff game. They set a goal early in the season to host a district playoff game.

“It’s just kind of a cap that you’ve had a decent season to get that,” Koper said. “We haven’t had the results like we’ve hoped for this year. But you still had a good enough season that you get a home game in week 10. I think it’s good for building a program. Building morale. To get fans out one last time, I think all that are key stepping stones for building a sustainable quality football program.”

North Point won two games in their first full season as a football program. Quarterback Gregory Hoyt leads the Grizzlies both in passing and rushing yards. Hoyt threw for over 1,300 yards and 16 touchdowns this season. He also led the Grizzlies on the ground, with 726 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Two North Point receivers were just short of 500 yards receiving on the season. Trey Trennepohl led the Grizzlies with 491 yards receiving and seven touchdowns. Aneas Smith had 481 yards receiving and seven touchdowns.

“They’re a young team,” Koper said. “They’re like us. They’ve got a lot of sophomores and juniors with just a couple of seniors mixed in there. So it should be a pretty good matchup.”

Cleared to start midseason, Charlie Blondin was the Warriors’ leading passer this season in six games. He threw for 1,189 yards and 12 touchdowns. He also rushed for over 100 yards and three touchdowns. Austin Haas led Warrenton on the ground with over 1,000 yards rushing and five touchdowns. Colton Brosenne was Warrenton’s leading receiver in the regular season. He finished the season with 405 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. Mason Thompson finished the season with 358 receiving yards and five touchdowns.

Kadin Stroer led the Warrior defense during the regular season with 98 total tackles and five sacks. Brandon Johnson led Warrenton with three interceptions.

Koper noted the increased intensity this week with the start of playoff football.

“It’s win or go home,” Koper said. “None of us are ready to be done yet. We all enjoy being on the football field. You’ve just got to execute as a player. No excuses at this point in the year. You don’t get any second chances. You don’t get to look forward to next week if you don’t take care of the week at hand.”

Koper stressed the importance for the Warriors to be solid on offense and defense Friday night. He conceded momentum swings are going to happen over the course of the game. Warrenton’s focus is to play well and build confidence from the opening kickoff.

“Whether that’s making some big plays on defense or driving the ball on offense, there just has to be some momentum built in the first series,” Koper said. “At the same time, you’ve got to limit big plays, not make big mistakes and not give them any momentum.”

Friday’s game will be played at 7 p.m. at Warrenton High School.