IT’S OVER!:Pioneers blast Bradley to snap streak
|
But by the end of Friday night’s game between the Pioneers and the visiting Bradley Central Bears, two goalposts were reduced to twisted wreckage, a packed Nunley Stadium crowd was celebrating its hometown heroes, and 39 straight losses seemed like ancient history.
Quarterback Joshua Paz accounted for 240 total offensive yards, more than the entire Bears’ lineup, and scored three rushing touchdowns in the Pioneers’ 34-12 win, the first for the WCHS program since its 2001 season opener.
Jevon Ramsey added 115 yards and a touchdown, and the WCHS defense came away with two interceptions to hand Bradley its 13th straight defeat.
“It’s hard to describe,” said Pioneer head coach Chris Madewell, who earned his first victory as the official varsity head coach.
“This was something we worked so hard to get to, and now that we’ve got here, it’s a sense of excitement, of joy, and just of being so proud of these boys. They’ve come together, and I’m excited about the rest of the season now.”
After their defensive unit held the Bears to just eight yards on the game’s opening possession, Warren County’s offense took the field, and marched toward the end zone behind two connections from Paz to Nick Cantrell and a 23-yard Paz run which gave WCHS first-and-goal at the 6-yard line.
A fumble from Ramsey gave the ball back to the Bears, but although Bradley put together a five-minute drive, they gave possession back to Warren County when Ethan Womack intercepted a pass near midfield.
“It made me a little nervous,” Madewell said of his team’s opening-drive fumble, “but I definitely didn’t say ‘here we go again’ because I trust our defense, and this team is not that same team (as years past). These kids believed in themselves, and they should.”
Determined not to let another scoring opportunity pass them by, the Pioneers went to the air, with Paz hitting Ben Dunn for a 37-yarder to set up a 22-yard pass to a diving Cantrell in the opening seconds of the second quarter.
Tony Garibaldi’s extra point gave WCHS a 7-0 lead, but Bradley struck right back on its ensuing drive, with Matt Gibson streaking 52 yards to set up a 10-yard Mark Gibson TD run.
A long kickoff return from Kyle Mullican allowed the Pioneers to begin their next possession near midfield, and Paz and Cantrell quickly moved the team into Bear territory with a 24-yard completion. Three strong runs from Ramsey, as well as a six-yard burst from Paz, brought the team ever nearer the goal line, and Paz went in from the 4 to make it a 14-6 Pioneer advantage.
In the final minute of the first half, the Pioneer defense forced Bradley to make its third punt of the game, and with 22 seconds left Paz found paydirt yet again. Looking for an open receiver and finding none, the senior took the ball up the middle and serpentined through the Bears’ defenders for a 54-yard touchdown run which gave WCHS a 20-6 halftime edge.
“He just wasn’t going to be denied this win,” Madewell said of his senior quarterback, who ran for 133 yards and passed for 107 — including 70 to Cantrell. “He’s just a great leader, and outstanding play from him tonight made the difference.”
The Pioneers went three-and-out to open the third quarter, but Bradley fared no better under replacement quarterback Chris Rogers, and was forced to punt the ball back to WCHS with just over six minutes to play in the period.
Warren County retook possession and fed the Bears a steady diet of Ramsey runs , as the senior tailback carried the ball six times during a nine-play drive, finally getting into the end zone on a 9-yard carry.
Ramsey, who hadn’t been on a winning sideline since his freshman season, was filled with emotion after the victory.
“It’s great,” he exclaimed. “It’s exciting, and it’s overwhelming. I was a little nervous for the first few minutes, but my teammates came through, my line was opening up holes for me, and we were able to step up.”
Ramsey’s TD gave the Pioneers a 27-6 edge heading into the fourth quarter, and Paz put the exclamation point on the victory with one more big play early in the final period.
WCHS took over at its own 41 after a Brandon Rich interception, and Paz found the open field yet again, getting a key downfield block from Cantrell on his way to a 59-yard scoring run.
That play allowed Pioneer coaches to make a decision they had never made under at least the last three coaching regimes: They called the dogs off.
Ryan McGee picked up a Mark Gibson fumble with just over four minutes to play, but unfortunately the Pioneers’ second-team offense gave the ball right back with the team’s fourth fumble of the game, which was picked up by Jason Bowman and returned 60 yards for a TD.
But with just three minutes to play, WCHS used some hard-nosed runs by Rich to get two more first downs, and backup QB Kyle Mullican dropped to a knee at the WCHS 44, allowing time to run out and signaling the beginning of an on-field celebration four years in the making.
And as the celebration went on, with goalposts crashing to earth, ice-water cascading onto coaches’ heads, countless back-pats, high-fives and hugs, and even a few joyous tears, Ramsey said the team’s goal now that “the streak” is over are simple.
“Let’s just keep winning,” he said.
Warren County goes for two in a row Friday night, when it hosts DeKalb County.