Staff writer
The Peabody-Burns High School Warriors football team notched a win Friday at Solomon, defeating the Gorillas, 28-24.
Braxton Kyle returned the opening kickoff to the Warrior 23-yard line. Austin Savage ran the ball on first down and a second down Matt Hiebert pass fell incomplete. Hiebert called a quarterback keeper on third down to advance the ball to the Warrior 31-yard line. On fourth-and-1, Wes Shaw plunged through the middle of the line to earn a new set of downs. Hiebert went to the passing game on first-and-10 from the Warrior 33-yard line. He connected with Pickens in the left corner of the Gorilla end zone. Hiebert found Savage on the opposite side of the end zone for the 2-point conversion. PBHS led, 8-0, with 10 minutes, 8 seconds on the clock in the first quarter.
The Warriors’ defense held on the first Solomon series. Stops from Savage, Brody Kyle, Xavier Jabary, Lucas Larsen, and Brent Jones forced a punt from the Solomon 16-yard line.
A PBHS fumble set up the first points in the game for the Gorillas. The 23-yard touchdown run gave Solomon their first points in the contest. A run through the middle of the PBHS defense added the 2-point conversion. The competition was tied at eight with 4:24 left in the first period.
Martin Reich retuned the Gorilla kickoff to the Warriors’ 24-yard line. The Solomon defense held the Warriors, but a roughing the kicker penalty allowed the PBHS drive to continue. Shaw ran the ball on first down to gain four yards. Braxton Kyle earned a first down on a pitch from Hiebert. Savage picked up another first down with a run to the Solomon 16-yard line.
Braxton Kyle moved the ball a yard on first down. Pickens gained five yards on second down. Hiebert called a quarterback keeper in the first seconds of the second quarter and took the team to the Solomon 4-yard line. A fumble halted the drive in the end zone with a Gorilla recovery for a touchback.
The Warriors’ defense made a big stand on the next Solomon offensive series. With stops from Braxton Kyle, Brody Kyle, Jabary, Christian Gard, Savage, Larsen, Shaw, and Jones the 6-minute drive ended with a bad long snap and the Warriors took over at midfield.
On first-and-10, Hiebert’s pass fell incomplete. Braxton Kyle took the second-down option to the right but then picked his way up field to the left side of the Solomon end zone. The conversion pass attempt was unsuccessful. The Warriors regained the lead, 14-8, with less than four minutes left in the half.
The Solomon offense came back on the next series and tied the score with 2:17 left in the half. A third-and-17 pass play from the Solomon 19-yard line covered the field and the Gorillas evened the game at 14, and Solomon scored on the conversion to lead, 16-14.
Just seconds into the third quarter, the Gorillas added another score with a run back of the short Warrior kickoff. The conversion pass play was good. PBHS trailed by ten, 24-14, with 11:51 on the clock.
The Warriors’ offense had good field position for its next scoring drive, set up by Pickens’ punt return. Savage ran on first down, and a second down Solomon flag set up a second-and-2 attempt at the Solomon 5-yard line. A pitch to Pickens scored in the Gorilla end zone. Pickens added two points with a run to the left side. PBHS closed the margin to 24-22 with 5:56 left in the third quarter.
Jabary recovered a Gorilla fumble to stop the next Solomon drive. PBHS offense set up at the Solomon 34-yard line.
Pickens ran right on first down. Savage took the next two downs. On fourth-and-2 at the Solomon 26, Pickens went around the right side of the Gorilla line for the score. The conversion pass was intercepted. PBHS regained the lead, 28-24, with 4:01 left on the clock in the third quarter.
With plenty of time left in the contest, PBHS defensive stops from Pickens, Jabary, Brody Kyle, Gard, Braxton Kyle, Shaw, and Jones kept the Gorillas out of the end zone for two series.
With less than two minutes left in the contest, Solomon had one more offensive effort. Shaw led PBHS defense on the drive with three big stops on the final three downs, with assists from Pickens and Jabary. PBHS held the Gorillas and stopped them at the Warrior 23-yard line.
Hiebert took a knee three times and PBHS earned the 28-24 victory.
Brody Kyle, Jabary, and Shaw led the defense with eight tackles each. Savage recorded five and Braxton Kyle had 4.5. Larsen, Pickens and Jones each had 2.5 tackles and Gard added two.
Braxton Kyle carried the ball seven times for a total of 80 yards and one touchdown. Savage had 18 rushes for 66 yards. Pickens had 10 carries for 52 yards and two scores. Hiebert had eight rushes for 22 yards and Shaw touched the ball twice for five yards.
Hiebert was 3-11 passing with one touchdown. Pickens had one reception for 48 yards and the score. Brody Kyle caught one pass for 22 yards. Braxton Kyle also caught a pass for 21 yards.
The team will next have a senior night match up with Little River Friday at home and then finish the season with a Thursday night game at Goessel on Oct. 27.