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Warriors peaking at right time
Daily Herald, October 21, 2006
by Roy Taylor, Daily Herald Correspondent
Waubonsie Valley coach Paul Murphy described Friday’s 21-7 football victory over visiting Freeport as his team’s best performance of the season.
Looks can be deceiving. Although the Warriors held the visitors scoreless for the first 40 minutes of the game, there was plenty of drama in the end.
The Warriors led 21-0 at the beginning of the fourth quarter, when the visiting Pretzels scored a touchdown after an 18-play, 85-yard drive. Waubonsie Valley then tried to run the ball and eat time on the clock but fumbled the ball back to Freeport on its own 35-yard line.
But with just over five minutes remaining in the game, Waubonsie Valley’s defense forced a Freeport turnover on downs, and the Warriors (5-4, 3-3 Upstate Eight Conference) clinched the game over Freeport (4-5).
“It was without a doubt our best game of the season,” Murphy said. “We’re a young team and we get excited, and we caused too much excitement there in the end. I keep telling the team that the game’s not over until that 48 minutes is off the clock.”
Waubonsie Valley wasted no time getting the evening’s excitement started. On the second play of the game, defensive end John McConnell recovered a Freeport fumble at the visitors’ 37-yard line. Then on the Warriors’ first play from scrimmage quarterback Tyler Castro threw a touchdown pass from that distance to wide receiver Ty Williams.
The score remained 7-0 into the second quarter. The Warriors drove 57 yards on the first drive of that period to the Freeport 23 but turned the ball over on downs. After forcing a Freeport punt on the next possession, Waubonsie Valley put together a 90-yard drive that culminated in a 2-yard touchdown run by Castro. The drive was highlighted by another long Castro pass, this time caught by receiver Drew Warden for 45 yards.
Leading 14-0 in the third quarter, Waubonsie took nearly four minutes off the clock on a succession of runs for first downs. Then on a third-and-2 from the Freeport 42, sophomore running back Evan Winston burst through the line, running the distance for his team’s final touchdown. Winston was promoted to varsity one week ago, and impressed with several long runs. He finished the game with 65 yards rushing on 6 carries.
A grizzled veteran — senior running back Nick Britton — gained the tough yards when it counted, finishing with 89 yards on 22 carries to lead the team.
Waubonsie Valley will be eagerly awaiting today’s playoff pairings that will determine who it will play next week, but to Britton, it doesn’t matter.
“We feel like we’ve gotten better every week,” Britton said. “No matter who it is we play in the playoffs, we feel like we’re better than a 5-4 team.”
Looks can be deceiving. Although the Warriors held the visitors scoreless for the first 40 minutes of the game, there was plenty of drama in the end.
The Warriors led 21-0 at the beginning of the fourth quarter, when the visiting Pretzels scored a touchdown after an 18-play, 85-yard drive. Waubonsie Valley then tried to run the ball and eat time on the clock but fumbled the ball back to Freeport on its own 35-yard line.
But with just over five minutes remaining in the game, Waubonsie Valley’s defense forced a Freeport turnover on downs, and the Warriors (5-4, 3-3 Upstate Eight Conference) clinched the game over Freeport (4-5).
“It was without a doubt our best game of the season,” Murphy said. “We’re a young team and we get excited, and we caused too much excitement there in the end. I keep telling the team that the game’s not over until that 48 minutes is off the clock.”
Waubonsie Valley wasted no time getting the evening’s excitement started. On the second play of the game, defensive end John McConnell recovered a Freeport fumble at the visitors’ 37-yard line. Then on the Warriors’ first play from scrimmage quarterback Tyler Castro threw a touchdown pass from that distance to wide receiver Ty Williams.
The score remained 7-0 into the second quarter. The Warriors drove 57 yards on the first drive of that period to the Freeport 23 but turned the ball over on downs. After forcing a Freeport punt on the next possession, Waubonsie Valley put together a 90-yard drive that culminated in a 2-yard touchdown run by Castro. The drive was highlighted by another long Castro pass, this time caught by receiver Drew Warden for 45 yards.
Leading 14-0 in the third quarter, Waubonsie took nearly four minutes off the clock on a succession of runs for first downs. Then on a third-and-2 from the Freeport 42, sophomore running back Evan Winston burst through the line, running the distance for his team’s final touchdown. Winston was promoted to varsity one week ago, and impressed with several long runs. He finished the game with 65 yards rushing on 6 carries.
A grizzled veteran — senior running back Nick Britton — gained the tough yards when it counted, finishing with 89 yards on 22 carries to lead the team.
Waubonsie Valley will be eagerly awaiting today’s playoff pairings that will determine who it will play next week, but to Britton, it doesn’t matter.
“We feel like we’ve gotten better every week,” Britton said. “No matter who it is we play in the playoffs, we feel like we’re better than a 5-4 team.”
All Content © Roy Taylor 2007