Warriors open season with win over Black Bears
Staff writer
Peabody-Burns Warriors took to the road Friday to open the 2003 football season at Sterling, where they took on the Black Bears and brought home a 14-8 win.
The first quarter of play for the Warriors opened on offense and the first series for the Warriors ended with a punt to the Black Bears. Mario Nava and Chris Hamm both did some groundwork for the Warriors.
On defense, the Warriors held the Black Bears on their first series. However, the second series for the Bears ended in a score from the three-yard line. The two-point conversion was successful and the Sterling team went up 8-0 with 2:27 left in the first quarter.
The Warriors wasted no time and went to work on offense. Caleb Good and Nava shared the ball on the first three downs, but the Warriors came up short and were faced with a fourth and three on the 45-yard line.
A fake punt was called. Adam Jones fielded the snap and rambled 56 yards to the endzone, scoring with 50 seconds left in the first quarter.
The conversion failed but the Warriors were back in the game, 8-6, trailing by two at the end of the quarter.
The kick-off to the Bears caught them hibernating and the Warriors regained the ball. Ryan Gaines alertly covered the short kick-off downfield to give possession back to the Warriors.
Peabody had trouble with penalties on the series that followed the kick-off and ended up punting the ball to Sterling with a little over 10 minutes left in the half.
Good defense slowed the Bears at mid-field and the Warriors started the next series on their 32-yard line. Hamm and Nava each had good runs with the line opening holes for them. Kurt Phillips also did some groundwork for the Warriors.
On fourth and 11, with just over four minutes to go in the half, the Warriors tried a field goal from the 22-yard line. The attempt fell just short and the score remained 8-6.
Sterling took over on offense but lost it when the Warriors created a fumble and Hamm came up with the loose ball on the 18-yard line. Seconds later, the Warriors put up their next score.
On a pitch from Good, Hamm scampered to the endzone and the Warriors went up 12-8.
A pass play from Good to Hamm was successful and the Warriors went up 14-8 with just under four minutes to go in the half.
Phillips had good coverage on the kick-off and stopped the Sterling team at the 23-yard line. Good defense held the Black Bears. The Warriors had one more chance on offense before the half but didn't convert.
The second half for the Warriors had a different look because of an injury to Hamm.
The Warriors coaching staff shuffled personnel and made adjustments to fill the vacancy in the line-up. Good defensive highlights filled the second half with key fumble recoveries, tackles, and pass break-ups.
The crowd held their breaths when the Black Bears had one last possession with 1:45 left in the game.
The Warrior defense came up huge with two sacks on the quarterback and good pass defense by Nava to break up a fourth and four attempt by the Bears.
The Warriors let the clock run out for the win.
Defensive coach David Pickens addressed his team after the game with high praise.
"I'm proud of you all. You came to their house to play and overcame your fears. You did a great job," he said.
Head coach Chris Young also had good things to say: "A victory is a victory. Sometimes it was ugly, but we won. It was a hard hitting game. We made mistakes but we turned it up when we had to.
"Losing Chris was big. We had to make adjustments, but you all did a terrific job. We beat a good football team. Thanks to our older kids' leadership and also to our young guys. Every player made a difference," Young said.
The Warriors host Halstead Friday night.
statistics
Rushing yards: Mario Nava 110; Adam Jones 59; Chris Hamm 49; Ryan Gaines, 21; Kurt Phillips 21.
Sacks: Jones 1; Phillips 2.
Tackles: Nava 13; Phillips 10; Jones 10; Brandon Crabtree 9; Job Hilliard 9; Isaiah Eldridge 8; Jonathan Feth 7; Hamm 6; Adam Carroll 6; Gaines 4; Caleb Good 3.
Brian Baker had six points in the contest with an average of 29 yards per kick.
