Staff writer
The Peabody-Burns High School Warriors football team earned a win in overtime Friday night at Wakefield. The squad defeated the Bombers 34-28. They will now prepare for the upcoming homecoming contest with Canton-Galva.
Wesley Shaw opened the game with the reception of the Bomber kickoff. The Warrior offense started at its own 25-yard line. Austin Savage had two carries on first and second down. A third-down pass from Hunter Pickens fell incomplete, and Savage punted on fourth-and-5 at the 30.
On first down, the Wakefield squad had a good gain to earn a new set of downs. Tackles by Christian Gard, Shaw, Xavier Jabary, and Brent Jones put the Bombers at the Warrior 31. Brody Kyle stopped the drive on third-and-4 with a fumble recovery.
On first down, Pickens was injured and Hiebert came in to replace the quarterback. On third-and-13 at the Warrior 29, Hiebert connected downfield with Gard for a 49-yard pass completion. Savage got the call on first-and-goal at the 2, but the Wakefield defense pushed him back 2. A second-down pitch to Braxton Kyle went nowhere. A third-down run by Savage lost two. On fourth-and-goal at the 6, Hiebert found Seth Topham in the endzone for the first score of the contest. The extra point attempt failed. With 6 minutes, 37 seconds left in the first, PBHS took the 6-0 lead.
The Warrior defense aided by stops from Braxton Kyle, Savage, Shaw, Brody Kyle, and Jones halted the next Wakefield drive. The Bombers punted on fourth-and-11 at their own 39. The punt rolled into the Warrior endzone.
On first-and-10 from the Warrior 15, Hiebert found Brody Kyle wide open in the middle of the field. The 65-yard pass play earned the second Warrior score. The point after touchdown failed but the Warriors were up, 12-0, with 3:29 left in the first period.
Wakefield offense cut the Warrior lead on the next series. A score with 2:03 on the clock made the totals, 12-6. The Bombers added 2 on a left side run and the Warrior lead was cut to 4, 12-8.
The Wakefield kickoff to Savage set up the PBHS team at their own 25. A first down pass fell incomplete. A second down pitch to Savage gained 5. After a PBHS timeout, Hiebert threw a strike to Gard downfield. The 50-yard completion made the score, 18-8. Savage added a 2-point run and PBHS led, 20-8, with one minute left in the first quarter.
Both defenses were strong in the early minutes of the second quarter. Lucas Larsen, Gard, Jabary, Jones, Shaw, and Brody Kyle stopped the Bombers on two series. The second series ended at the Warrior 27 when a Bomber punt rolled out of bounds.
Hiebert again had success in the air on the next drive with completions to Gard and Topham. On second-and-12 at the Bomber 34, another passing touchdown was added to the stats with a strike from Hiebert to Braxton Kyle. Jabary added 2 on a hard run through the middle of the defense. PBHS took the 18-8 lead with 5:25 left in the second quarter.
Defense remained tough for both squads in the period. No more points were added in the second quarter. The Warriors led, 28-8, at the half.
The Bombers wasted no time after the half and put together a short drive that ended with a pass play score from their own 27-yard line. A run through the middle gave the team 2 more on the conversion. The Warrior lead was cut, 28-16, with 10:58 left in the third.
The remainder of the third was tough on both offenses, but early in the fourth, the Bombers connected for another passing score. The extra point was thwarted by a big defensive stand, but the gap was now 28-22 with 11:26 on the clock in the fourth.
Warrior defense suffered another blow in the fourth when the Bombers added another score at the 8:58 mark. The extra point failed, but the game was now all even at 28.
Warrior offense had three more attempts to put together a scoring drive but failed to get into the end zone. Wakefield also failed to score in regulation. The game ended, tied at 28, and went into overtime.
With a set of downs awarded to each team at the 10-yard line, the bombers won the right to try for the first score in the overtime period. Warrior defense stood the test and pushed the Bombers in reverse. The fourth-and-goal pass play at the 13 was broken up by Braxton Kyle.
One Warrior offensive play from scrimmage broke the tie. Savage headed left around the Wakefield 8 and found the end-zone for the score. PBHS won in overtime, 34-28.
Hiebert led the passing game with 8 for 16 for 244 yards and 4 passing touchdowns. Gard had 3 receptions for 107 yards and a touchdown. Brody Kyle had 2 catches for 71 yards and a touchdown. Braxton Kyle had 2 catches for 53 yards and a touchdown. Seth Topham caught 2 for 19 and a touchdown.
Savage had 15 carries for 127 yards and a touchdown. Pickens had 1 run for 4 yards. Brody Kyle had 1 run for 5 yards. Braxton Kyle had 2 runs for 4 yards. Jabary had 1 run for 3 yards.
Tackle totals
Larsen, 10; Jones, 9.5; Shaw, 8.5; Sagave, 8.5; Gard, 5.5; Jabary, 5.5; Brody Kyle, 5.5; Braxton Kyle, 4.5; Hiebert, 2; Pickens, 1.5; Topham, 1.