Warriors lose district to Olpe
Staff writer
PBHS football took a hit Thursday in the last district game at home. The Warriors were defeated by Olpe 24-0 and became the number two team in District 7. With the loss, the 6-3 Warriors will travel to Canton Tuesday to take on Canton-Galva in a bi-district competition.
Defense was key in the first half of competition. Ben Eldridge, Derrick Simmonds, Andrew Loucks, Nathan Bishop, Will Pratt, and Todd Woodruff came up with tackles on the first defensive series. On a second-and-seven from the Olpe 36, Nick Abramowich tackled the Eagle runner and Trevor Hamm stripped the football. Simmonds recovered the turn-over and Warrior offense took possession at the Eagle 47.
The series contained rushing from Woodruff, Hamm, and Bishop and also a completed pass from Simmonds to Hamm. The drive was stopped at the Olpe 36 and the Warriors were forced to punt.
Woodruff, Bishop, Eric Dutton, Simmonds, Pratt, Abramowich, and Adam Benson all made defensive plays on the next series. The Warriors stopped the Eagles and forced a punt which landed deep in PBHS territory.
Warrior offense was pinned at their own six. On second-and-10, Eagle offense came right back onto the field due to a Warrior fumble.
Big stops were made by Dutton, Woodruff, Hamm, and Pratt to hold the Eagles out of the Warrior end zone. The Olpe squad turned the ball over on downs.
Starting at their own five-yard line, Warrior offense included three runs by Woodruff to move the chains. Hamm and Woodruff combined to bring up third-and-two at the Warrior 28. Simmonds snap count forced Olpe to move and the drive continued due to an encroachment penalty. Woodruff, Hamm, and Simmonds all ran the ball, but the largest gain was due to an Olpe face mask penalty. The result was first-and-10 at mid-field. The drive was stopped on the next play when an Eagle intercepted a PBHS pass.
Warrior defense held the Eagles on the last two series until just a minute was left in the half. Olpe completed a big pass play to set them up at the Warrior 23. The Eagles scored with 38 seconds on the clock. They added the PAT and took the 7-0 lead just prior to the end of the first half.
The Eagle kick-off hit an upback and the live ball was recovered by Olpe. Warrior defense came back to claim possession on the next play with a Simmonds interception of an Eagle pass. Time ran out in the half with Warriors at their own 22 yard line.
Five second-half Warrior offensive possessions did not produce points for the squad. Despite good defensive efforts in the second half by Loucks, Eldridge, Bishop, Benson, Brandon, Pickens, Pratt, Simmonds, Abramowich, Anthony Jones, and Dutton, the Eagles were able to put up two more touchdowns and a field goal to make the final 24-0
Woodruff ran 13 times for 22 yards. Hamm had 7 carries for 19 yards. Simmonds ran 4 times for 6 yards and Bishop was 3 for 3. Simmonds completed one pass to Hamm for 11 yards.
Pratt lead the team with 11 tackles. Woodruff had 10 and Simmonds had 8. Other tackles recorded Loucks 7, Bishop 7, Dutton 6, Eldridge 4, Hamm 2, Pickens 2, Abramowich 1, Jones 1.
