by Mark Turner
White County News
After a frustrating start to the season against Rabun County, the White County Warriors showed some signs of improvement in the second game of the year last week at Warrior Stadium.
The WCHS squad dropped to 0-2 with a 17-3 loss to Habersham Central, but the Warriors battled the Raiders, a Class AAAAA team, for four quarters and got an inspired performance out of the defensive unit. The Warriors limited the Raiders to their lowest point total of the season, which included a 27-3 win over Stephens County to start the year.
“I think we saw some improve from Game 1 to Game 2, and that's what you want,” WCHS head coach Chad Bennett said. “Defensively, I thought we played good enough to win the game. They were averaging 27 points and we held them to 17 and caused three turnovers. I was proud of the way the defensive guys played. We had a good plan and they guys went out and executed that plan.”
The Warriors now turn their attention to East Jackson this week with a road trip for the final non-region game of the season. Last year, the Warriors knocked off East Jackson, 55-27, but this year's version of the Eagles is off to a fast start. The Eagles are 3-0, with wins over Winder-Barrow (38-35), Commerce (21-14 and Dawson County (37-22).
In last week's matchup, the Raiders got things started after stopping the Warriors on the opening drive of the game. The Raiders used a six-play 18-yard drive that ended with running back Donnie Warren punching it in for a six-yard touchdown to take a 7-0 lead.
The Warriors' defense was threatened again later in the first half as the Raiders drove deep into WCHS territory.
The Raiders' drive was hurt by a penalty and a couple of key stops by WCHS before a fourth down pass was incomplete giving the ball back to the Warriors. The Warriors' next drive ended with a fumble, setting up the Raiders with good field position at the 47-yard line. Warren and HCHS quarterback Paris Wilbanks both had big runs in the ensuing drive, with Warren capping the drive off with a 21-yard run for a 14-0 lead.
The Warriors got on the board before the half ended. The Warriors got into scoring territory on a 14-yard pass from Alex Freeman to Reid Penrose for a first down at the Raiders' 14-yard line. The Warriors got inside the 5-yard on a nine yard run by Noel Lammers, but the Raiders came up with a big tackle for loss, causing the Warriors to have to attempt a field goal. Luke Byrne's kick from 25 yards went through the goal posts to cut the deficit to 14-3 at halftime.
The Warriors' defense played well in the second half, shutting out the Raiders and forcing a pair of turnovers. Penrose picked off a pass in the Red Zone to stymie a Habersham drive to open the third quarter. Minutes later on the Raiders next possession, James Hart knocked the ball away from Habersham’s Tylon Davis and Zach Godfrey jumped on the loose ball to end the Raiders' scoring opportunity.
The Warriors had a few more opportunities to cut into the lead, but couldn't sustain a drive into the end zone.
The Warriors finished with 187 total yards, with 115 yards on the ground and 72 passing yards.
“We saw some improvements at times, but we are so inconsistent with our effort and execution,” Bennett said. “When we had 11 guys doing their job, we had some success, but unfortunately, we weren't able to do that enough to score some points. I'm responsible for this, so I have to figure out how to fix it. We've still got a long way to go on offense and we still have a lot of things to clean up in a lot of areas.”
Freeman was 11-23 for 72 yards and two interceptions, with Penrose leading the receivers with a pair of catches for 43 yards. Godfrey had two catches for 11 yards, John Jarrard had two catches for eight yards, Savion Anderson had three catches for six yards, and Carrson Ward had two receptions for four yards.
Noel Lammers had 69 yards on 15 carries, with Jack Clark rushing for 58 yards on seven carries before leaving the game in the third quarter with an injury. Godfrey had two carries for 10 yards.
The Raiders' defense had seven sacks in the game, accounting for -20 yards.
Penrose led the defensive effort with 10 total tackles, including six first hits and a pair of tackles for loss and an interception.
Anderson had nine total tackles, and Hart had eight total tackles, with a tackle for loss, and caused a fumble. Casey Crane had a team-high seven assists and two first hits, Godfrey had six total tackles and recovered a fumble, with Kody Tuhey, Josiah Williams and Matt Turner each adding five total tackles. Jarrard, Lammers, Zay Cheek, and Easton Drew all had three total tackles, and Jack Johnson had a fumble recovery.