Warrior football season ends with close loss at Canton-Galva
Staff writer
The go-ahead field goal went wide left Oct. 31 and ended the PBHS Warrior football season. The Warriors lost to the Canton-Galva Eagles, 28-26, in the bi-district match-up. The squad finished the season with a 6-4 record.
PBHS defense held the Eagles on the first series of the game. The drive that started at the Eagles 20 and only netted four yards, ended with an Eagle punt. Ben Eldridge, Todd Woodruff, Nathan Bishop, and Trevor Hamm made tackles.
Warrior offense opened immediately with a pass that was intercepted by Canton-Galva. The Eagles took over at the Warrior 34-yard line. Despite efforts by Woodruff, Derrick Simmonds, Eric Dutton, and Hamm, the Eagles put the ball in the end zone on a first-and-10 at the 23. They added one and Canton-Galva led the game, 7-0, with 7:02 left on the clock in the first quarter.
The Warriors evened the score with less than two minutes to play in the period. The drive was set up by a punt return by Woodruff that put PBHS offense at the Eagle 31. Hamm, Woodruff, and Simmonds combined for runs to move the chains. Woodruff ran the ball left on a first-and-10 from the 19 to score for the Warriors. Pratt added the PAT and the game was tied, 7-7, with 1:23 on the clock.
Early in the second quarter, Warrior offense went back on the field following Woodruff interception of an Eagle pass. Starting at the Warrior 33, the long drive had rushing by Hamm, Woodruff, Bishop, and Cole Welsh. The Warriors scored a touchdown from mid-field with less than nine minutes on the clock, but a penalty brought the ball back to the Eagle 44.
The Warriors continued the drive, earning three more first downs. With less than four minutes to play in the second period, Woodruff scored on a first-and-goal at the six. The extra point by Pratt was unsuccessful, but the Warriors took the lead 13-7 with 3:58 left in the half.
Warrior defense from Bishop, Pratt, Simmonds, Woodruff, Hamm, Dutton, and Eldridge wasn't enough to keep the Eagles out of the end zone before the half. With less than a minute, the Eagles added six on a second-and-goal at the four. The kick was good and the edge went to Canton-Galva at the half, 14-13.
The Eagles scored first in the second half with a pass on fourth-and-nine from the Warrior 17-yard line. They added one and the deficit for the Warriors was eight, 21-13, with 6:31 on the clock in the third.
After the Eagle kick-off, PBHS offense took the field at their own 34. Woodruff gained one and Hamm gained four. On third-and-five from the 39, Woodruff took off on a 61-yard run to the end zone. The game-tying two-point conversion pass was intercepted and the Warriors were down by two, 21-19, with 4:49 left in the third quarter.
A big Eagle kick-off return put the Canton-Galva offense at mid-field to start the next scoring drive. Anthony Jones, Brandon Pickens, and Ben Eldridge made defensive plays. The drive was kept alive by a Warrior penalty and the Eagles scored on first-and-goal at the three. With 1:23 on the clock, the Warriors were down 28-19.
Both team defenses played a tough fourth quarter. The next Canton-Galva scoring drive was thwarted when Eldridge recovered an Eagle fumble at the Warrior six.
Hamm, Bishop, Pickens, and Woodruff combined to move the ball to the PBHS 17. Woodruff and Simmonds moved the chains again for first down at the Eagle 30. The next first down was earned on a third-down pass play from Simmonds to Bishop. With first-and-10 at the Warrior 43, the call was the halfback option. Bishop threw a huge pass to Hamm. Hamm ran for the end zone and the Warriors took the score to within three points. Pratt added one. PBHS trailed by two with 3:23 left in the game.
The Warrior on-sides kick was recovered by Nick Abramowich and PBHS offense had one last chance to score. The team worked from the Eagle 47 to the Eagle 20 with runs from Woodruff and Hamm. On fourth-and-four at the 20, the Pratt field goal attempt went wide left. Canton-Galva ran out the clock for the win.
Woodruff had 30 runs for 243 yards and three touchdowns. Hamm rushed 13 times for 32 yards. Simmonds carried seven times for 28 yards and Bishop was 4-for-9. Bishop threw once to Hamm for 58 yards and a touchdown.
Tackles for the PBHS squad included Eldridge, 8; Dutton, 6; Woodruff, 6; Bishop, 6; Jones, 3; Pratt, 3; Pickens, 3; Welsh, 2; Simmonds, 2; Hamm, 1; Abramowich, 1: Loucks, 1.
