Warriors end season with loss to Frankfort
Warriors end season with loss to Frankfort
Staff writer
The Peabody-Burns Warriors played their final game of the season Friday night in front of the largest home crowd this year. The Warriors were defeated in sectional play by the Frankfort Wildcats 43-21.
The PBHS squad finished the season at 8-4 with post-season wins in bi-district and regional contests and a finish as sectional's runner-up.
The Warriors started strong, taking the first offensive possession at mid-field due to a short Wildcat kick-off. Mario Nava and Kurt Phillips ran the ball on first and second downs.
On third and two at the Wildcat 47, Phillips made his way through the middle of the defense to earn a new set of downs. Nava made the next big gain for the Warriors, moving the ball 27 yards to set up the next first down at the Wildcat 15-yard line.
Nava gained one on first down. Phillips was stopped at the line of scrimmage on second down.
On third and nine, Chris Hamm popped around the left side and targeted the end zone for the Warrior score. Hamm added the PAT. The PBHS team took an early lead, 7-0, with 8:34 left in the first quarter.
On the Warrior kick-off, Michael Unruh stopped the Wildcat return man on the Wildcat 42-yard line. The Warrior defense came up big on the series.
Hamm stopped the runner on first down with minimal gain. Job Hilliard and Adam Jones smelled reverse on second down and dropped the Wildcat running back for a loss of four yards. An incomplete pass on third down brought up a Wildcat punt. An errant snap went over the punter's head and Unruh and Hamm tackled him at the Wildcat 31.
The Warrior offense went to work on a short field earning a new set of downs on two Phillips carries. Phillips and Nava moved the ball, but on third down, Caleb Good was tackled trying to pass and the Warriors were faced with a fourth and 12. Hamm set up for the field goal attempt from the Wildcat 24, but the attempt was no good.
The Wildcats took over on downs.
The Wildcats sprang to life on the next series. A big gain on first down moved the sticks to the Wildcat 40-yard line.
Isaiah Eldridge, Jones, Adam Carroll, Jonathan Foth, Nava, and Good were all credited with tackles on the drive, but on second and goal, the Wildcats scored from the Warrior five. The PAT was no good. With only 40 seconds left in the first quarter, the Warrior lead was cut to one, 7-6.
A long Frankfort kick-off rolled into the end zone to put the Warrior offense at their own 20-yard line to start the second quarter. The drive however, went nowhere and ended in a punt by Brian Baker.
The Wildcats wasted no time on offense, starting at the Warrior 40, earning three first downs and scoring from the four-yard line. The conversion for the Wildcats was no good due to a fumbled snap.
The Frankfort squad took their first lead in the contest, 12-7 with 8:33 left in the second quarter.
Nava took the next Wildcat kick-off from the Warrior 20 and rocketed to the Frankfort 27-yard line. Phillips ran twice and on third and one, Good pushed ahead just enough for the first down. Penalties and tough Wildcat defense stopped the drive at the Wildcat 23.
With five minutes left in the half, Hamm missed a second field goal attempt and the ball went back to the Frankfort offense.
The Wildcats put up one more score with a three-yard touchdown just seconds before half time. The conversion failed, but the Warriors trailed 18-7.
The first Wildcat possession after the half put the Frankfort team on the board again. A four-yard run with an extra point made the gap 25-7.
The next Warrior offense took more than eight minutes off the clock. Nava earned three big first downs to keep the drive alive. Also, a completed pass from Good to Unruh added yardage. The drive ended, however, on a fourth and nine incomplete pass.
The Wildcats next two scores came early in the fourth quarter on a big Frankfort pass play and a Warrior pass interception that ended in a two-yard Wildcat run. The PATs were no good, but the Warriors were down 37-7.
The Warriors next drive started at their own 33-yard line. Nava ran on first down. Phillips moved the sticks with a big 24-yard gain on second and nine. The next set of downs was earned on third and 13 with a Good to Foth 16-yard pass play to put the ball at the Wildcat 28.
Another completed pass from Good to Unruh set up a first and 10 from the Wildcat 13-yard line. Nava bounced to the right side to give the Warriors the touchdown. The extra point attempt failed.
The PBHS squad was on the board again, 37-13, with six minutes left in the game.
Ryan Gaines recovered a Wildcat fumble to quickly put the offense back on the field at the Warrior 44 with just over five minutes left in the contest. On second and 10 Kurt Phillips made a huge run for the end zone covering 56 yards on the play. Good completed a pass to Hamm for the extra two and with 5:03 left in the game, the gap narrowed to 37-21.
The Wildcats went on offense once more, scoring with 2:19 left in the game. The extra point was no good, but the Frankfort lead widened 43-21.
The PBHS squad had one more shot on offense. Nava earned a first down covering 10 yards on first and 10 at the Warrior 36. Phillips moved the chains again with a 52-yard run for the Warriors.
The drive ended on the Wildcat seven with an incomplete Warrior pass with 10 seconds left on the clock. The Wildcats took a knee to run out the clock ending the contest.
The Warriors were defeated in sectional play by the Frankfort Wildcats, 43-21.
"We played a great team with a big winning tradition," stated Coach Chris Young. "They made good adjustments to our game. We battled hard and didn't stop throughout the game. I'm so proud of what this team has accomplished this season.
"We had a quality team with quality players. I'm going to miss them a lot," he added. "Now we prepare for the next season next year. We'll never stop trying to make our program the best."
statistics
Passing
Good, 5-12 for 59 yds
Receiving
Unruh, 2 for 21 yds
Foth, 1 for 16 yds
Phillips, 1 for 9 yds
Nava, 1 for 13 yds
Rushing
Phillips, 20 carries for 169 yds, 1 TD
Nava 16 carries for 73 yds, 1 TD
Hamm, 2 carries for 14 yds, 1 TD
Kick-off returns
Nava, 3 for 96 yds
Unruh, 2 for 26 yds
Tackles
Phillips, 13; Gaines, 12; Hilliard, 10: Hamm, 10; Eldridge, 9; Jones, 8; James Morris, 6; Nava, 5; Foth, 4; Adam Carroll; Unruh,3
