Staff writer
The Warrior football team took on the challenge of competing against the undefeated Madison Bulldogs Friday in a senior night match-up. PBHS overcame a 28-0 deficit to give the visitors their first loss of the season, 40-34.
Next up is the final regular season contest at Lebo on Thursday that will decide playoff positioning for the Warriors.
The opening Madison kickoff sailed out-of-bounds, setting PBHS up at its own 15 for the first series. Fred Winsor gained one yard on first down. Braxton Kyle followed with a 6-yard gain. Clayton Philpott caught the third down pass but fumbled. Madison took the ball at the Warrior 34.
Xavier Jabary had the first three Warrior tackles to bring up fourth-and-4 for the Bulldogs. A short pass moved the ball to the Warrior 9. Kyle Seeney and Kyle teamed up to stop the first-down run for a loss of 1. Madison threw for a touchdown on the next play. The conversion run was successful and PBHS trailed 8-0 with nine minutes, nine seconds left in the first quarter.
After another touchback, the Warrior offense again began at its own 15. Kyle had a first-down keeper that gained 10 yards and moved the sticks. Madison intercepted a deep pass on the next play for a change of possession.
Starting at their own 19, a holding penalty pushed the Bulldogs back 10. Seeney thwarted the run on the following play. A short pass over the defense set up third-and-inches at the Madison 27. A big third down run took the visitors to the Warrior 25. Despite stops by Winsor, Jabary, Philpot and Kiefer Larsen, Madison tacked on their second score of the quarter with a run to the right side of the endzone. The conversion failed, but Madison led 14-0 with 5:02 left in the period.
After the Warrior offense started at the 15 on a touchback, Kyle gained 2 on first down. A holding penalty pushed the PBHS squad back 10. A second-down pass fell incomplete, but on third-and-15, Kyle connected with Winsor for a first down. The following pass play fell incomplete to bring up second-and-10. Kyle ran a keeper, resulting in a third-and-3 at the Warrior 31. A fumble on the next down gave the ball back to the Bulldogs with 3:35 on the clock.
Starting at midfield, the Bulldogs moved the ball 39 yards for a score. The conversion failed but the lead favored Madison 20-0.
After a Peabody punt, a pass and run after the catch early in the second quarter gave the Bulldogs a 26-0 lead. The 2-point conversion was successful and PBHS trailed 28-0.
The next PBHS series included loss of yardage on a sack and 2 runs by Winsor. On fourth and 3 at their own 27, Kyle punted.
The Bulldog offense began its next series at its own 16. Jabary, Philpott, Winsor, Seeney, Kevin Baatrup, Larsen and Kaden Gibson each had tackles during the six-minute drive. On fourth-and-8 at the Warrior 12, Madison kicked a field goal that was blocked by Kyle. PBHS took possession at the 40-yard line.
A first-down keeper went back one yard. Winsor ran to the right side on second-and-11, earning a first down at the Bulldog 30. On the next play, Winsor ran down the left sideline to the endzone for a thirty-yard score. The conversion pass from Kyle to Philpott was juggled but caught for 2. PBHS scored for the first time in the contest with 2:27 left in the first half, 28-8.
The Jabary kickoff sailed long and Madison started at its own 15. The Warrior defense created a fumble and Philpott came up with the ball at the Bulldog 19-yard line.
A pitch from Kyle to Winsor moved the ball 4 yards. The second-down pass fell incomplete. Kyle was tied up on the next play, but got the pass off to Winsor. The play was negated by a block in the back penalty. On third and 6 at the 14, an incomplete pass brought up a PBHS time out.
Following the time out, Kyle ran for 8 to set up a first-and-goal at the Madison 6. The first down Winsor run went nowhere. With under a minute left in the half, PBHS stopped the clock with a time out. Movement on the next play moved the line of scrimmage to the 3 yard line.
On third-and-goal, the Bulldogs sacked Kyle to set up fourth-and-goal at the Madison 17. The drive ended well when Baatrup snagged a Kyle pass in the middle of the field and ran for the score. Winsor ran the 2 point conversion. With 19 seconds left in the half, PBHS narrowed the gap 28-16.
Madison took the pooch kick and downed the ball at their own 28. The Bulldogs took a knee to end the half.
Vince Newman got the first hit in the third quarter, stopping the Madison return man at the Bulldog 17. Winsor, Baatrup and Larsen each had stops in the series. On third-and-7 at the Warrior 35, Philpott sacked the QB and forced a punt.
The four-play drive ended with a fumble. Madison got the ball at the Warrior 21.
Defense came up big on the next series. The Bulldog offense moved the ball 2 yards in three downs. Winsor broke up a fourth-down pass attempt, setting up the PBHS offense at its own 12-yard line.
A first-down pitch to Winsor gained 5. Kyle ran for a new set of downs with a second-down gain of 6. After an incomplete pass and a sack, a PBHS fumble returned the ball to the Madison offense at the Bulldog 28.
On the next series, Seeney, Larsen and Winsor had stops that forced Madison to punt. Baatrup fielded the ball, returning it 9 yards. However, PBHS again went backwards with a block-in-the-back penalty.
Winsor gained 2 on first down at the Warrior 19. A second-down Kyle pass found Philpott, and he scampered 58 yards down the left side for the score. The conversion pass was good. PBHS trailed 28-24 with 3:04 left in the third.
The next Bulldog series was kept alive by an interference penalty and a personal foul. The drive seemed destined for a Madison score until Philpott intercepted an errant pass, due to quarterback pressure by Larsen. The 58-yard return gave the Warriors their first lead in the contest. Kyle ran the conversion, and With 1:57 left in the period, the Warriors led 32-28.
Early in the fourth quarter, Madison finished a 12 play drive for a score. The conversion pass failed, but the lead went back to the Bulldogs, 34-32.
Four downs gained nothing on the next Peabody drive. Kyle punted from the Warrior 15.
The Warrior defense, including stops from Jabary, Kyle, Larsen, Winsor, and Philpott, forced a field goal attempt at the Warrior 27. The Bulldog snap sailed long and Larsen recovered the ball at the Warrior 36.
A first-down pass fell incomplete. Winsor had back-to-back gains of 14 and 11. On first down at the 19, Winsor ran for 3. A second-down Kyle run went nowhere. On third-and-7 at the 17, Baatrup caught a Kyle pass and ran to the left side for the touchdown. Kyle earned the conversion with a stretch over the line. PBHS reclaimed the lead 40-34 with 2:12 left in the game.
Seeney and Jabary stopped the return of the Winsor kick midfield. Madison gained five yards on first down. Baatrup broke up a third-down pass. Kyle and Jabary teamed up for a stop on the fourth-and-5. The Bulldogs turned over the ball at the Madison 29.
With 1:14 left in the game, thw Warrior strategy included running the ball and running out the clock. Two Madison timeouts stopped the clock. The PBHS offense had fourth-and-5 at the Madison 24-yard line. After a Warrior timeout, the line did the job for a Kyle keeper. The Warriors earned a first down at the 19. PBHS was able to kneel and run out the clock for the victory. The Warriors defeated Madison 40-34.
“This was an outstanding ball game that proved when we are down, we are not out,” Peabody head coach David Pickens said. “Tonight we proved we can play with the best.”
Kyle was 9-for-17 passing for 129 yards and 2 scores. He ran 18 times for 41 yards. Winsor rushed 17 times for 93 yards and one touchdown, catching 4 passes for 34 yards and a score. Baatrup caught one pass for 17 yards and a touchdown. Philpott caught 4 passes for 78 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Jabary led the defensive effort with 17 tackles. Larsen followed with 11. Seeney, Baatrup and Philpott each had 10. Winsor earned 8 stops and Kyle added 6. Gibson had 2 and Newman recorded 1.