The Warrenton football team let Zumwalt South cling to life for the better part of the first half during Saturday’s GAC North contest.

When the Warriors emerged from the locker room for the final two quarters, they quickly distanced themselves from the Bulldogs in a 52-14 rout.

The Warriors bounced back from a disgruntling conference defeat in Week four, improving to 4-1 in the league. They travel to Union for nonconference action this Friday.

Junior Nick Todd put on an exhibition catching the ball during Saturday’s win, hauling in six receptions for a career-best 218 yards and three touchdowns.

But the rest of the Warrior offense took awhile to find its rhythm, overcome by mental mistakes that negated long yardage plays.

“We moved the ball pretty well most of the day,” said Coach Ken Moore. “We finally kicked it into gear as far as execution of our plays in the second half.”

Two big plays kept Zumwalt South within reach during the first half.

Warrenton managed to score on its opening drive, as senior quarterback Scotty Lathrop raced 26 yards into the end zone.

The Warriors added a 32-yard field goal by junior Darren Hackmann later in the quarter. But Zumwalt South ripped away the momentum, returning a blocked punt for a touchdown.

Junior Austin Black added the first of his two rushing touchdowns to put the Warriors in command 17-7 after one quarter.

Zumwalt South regained the momentum for the final time when Marcus Lemaster hit J.R. Alexander on a 71-yard touchdown pass.

Warrenton was in danger of taking a narrow 17-14 advantage into the half, until Todd cut loose for the first of his touchdowns on a 68-yard reception with under a minute remaining in the half.

“I was kind of disappointed in our first half, but I was proud of the way we responded in the second half,” said Moore.

Moore says the offense finally started clicking in the second half, putting some separation in the Warriors’ 24-14 lead after the break.

Hackmann was also able to plant the Bulldogs deep in their own territory on most occasions.

“He did a nice job of kicking that field goal, and then the rest of the day he was pretty good with the kickoff,” said Moore. “He either kicked them deep or high enough that we had time to get downfield and cover.”

Offensively, Todd began putting on an exhibition.

He had a long catch to set  up another one-yard touchdown run by Black in the third quarter.

Sophomore Devin Roberts made a resounding impact on defense for the second straight week. He scooped up a fumbled quarterback pitch and rumbled 35 yards into the end zone.

“He was determined to get into the end zone, and it showed,” said Moore.

Roberts’ recovery pushed the Warriors ahead 39-14 heading into the final period.

Todd continued to elude tacklers, hauling in two more touchdowns passes — of 59 and 62 yards — to put the exclamation point on the victory.

“We’re trying to get him the ball more because he’s a playmaker,” said Moore. “On that last one, we were working on a short little pass play, and he turned it into a long touchdown.”

Warrenton showed its ability to spread the ball out, with six different players involved in scoring.

Lathrop finished 7 of 14 for 216 yards and two touchdowns but was also productive on the ground. He ran for 104 yards on 13 carries, providing a dual threat.

Sophomore T.J. Lafaver completed his one pass attempt to Todd on the game’s final touchdown.

Black finished with 63 yards on six carries and also hauled in a 23-yard catch.

Junior Jason Bunge added a 37-yard reception.

“I’m excited about where we’re at right now,” said Moore. “We’re pretty balanced, and we haven’t had to put it on just one person to score all the touchdowns either.”