Pioneers fall just short
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“It’s unbelievable, the job (Warren County has) done from one year to the next,” said Thompson, who learned the game under Paul “Bear” Bryant and has coached the Falcons to numerous region championships and three state titles.
“But I knew going in, especially after we saw that crowd they brought with them, this would be a tough one.”
WCHS scored 13 fourth-quarter points to tie the ballgame, but the homestanding Falcons came through with a touchdown in overtime, then stopped the Pioneers’ efforts to match them and escape with the victory.
While the winning streak which began with the opening of the 2005 season may have been broken, Friday’s heart-wrenching effort against the Falcons seemed by all who witnessed it to serve as evidence that Pioneer football truly has turned its fortunes around.
“It’s tough,” WCHS head coach Chris Madewell said of Friday’s loss. “I knew they were a good team, but to be so close and come up short is hard to take.
“We all felt coming in we could win, so even though it’s good to come down here and be competitive, it’s still a tough one to lose.”
‘A tough one to lose.’ A significant choice of words from the coach of a program which fell to these same Falcons 49-13 a year ago, and 70-7 the last time they made the trip to Lincoln’s fabled home field, known affectionately as The Pit.
“They just fought their hearts out,” Madewell continued. “I’m so proud of the way they came out and played. Nobody gave us a chance, but they came out confident they could win this game.”
That confidence was clear on the first series of the game, when the Pioneers forced the Falcons to go three-and-out. WCHS had the same result on its first drive, although they came close to breaking the game open on a trick play, as Nick Cantrell took the ball on a reverse and just missed connecting with Ben Dunn for what would have been the game’s first touchdown pass.
LCHS (2-1) came through with three straight big plays on its ensuing possession, with quarterback Chris Shelton scoring on a 25-yard run to put the Falcons on the board.
The score remained 7-0 in favor of the Falcons until halftime, as Warren County’s most successful drive ended with a blocked Tony Garibaldi field goal attempt, and the Falcons went three-and-out, had their second drive stopped by a Jacob Bratcher interception and had their own field-goal attempt blocked by Mikey Perkins as the halftime horn sounded.
Lincoln County took a 13-0 lead late in the third quarter, when Jeremy Ramsey scored on a 10-yard run, but once again the Pioneers’ special teams came through, blocking the PAT and providing enough blocking to help Bratcher return the ensuing kickoff 34 yards.
Starting at their own 43, the Pioneers moved into Falcon territory on a 34-yard hookup from Paz to Dunn. Two hard-nosed Perkins runs brought them closer to the goal line, and Paz went down to the 6 as the quarter expired then connected with Nick Cantrell on the second play of the fourth quarter. Cantrell’s catch, which required some fancy footwork to stay in-bounds, trimmed the deficit to 13-6, and Garibaldi’s PAT try was wide left.
Bratcher made another big play on Lincoln’s next drive, picking off a Shelton pass in the end zone.
A facemask penalty against the Falcons started the Pioneers’ march downfield, and passes to Ethan Womack and Adam Wood helped them move deep into LCHS territory.
Pass interference against the Falcons made it first-and-goal from the 5-yard line, and the Pioneers made it to the one before a desperation LCHS stand shoved them back to the four. Two incomplete passes gave the ball back to LCHS on downs, and the Falcons took over with 3:08 to play in regulation.
Stepping up to the challenge, the Pioneer defense did a little shoving of its own, allowing the Falcons just one yard and using all their timeouts to stop the clock and force a punt. Bratcher fielded the ball at the 45, and found a seam, streaking all the way to the end zone for his second punt return TD in as many weeks. Garibaldi’s kick was on the mark this time, and the fourth quarter ended with the two teams knotted at 13-all.
“The most impressive thing, I thought, was that he did all that with no blocking — we were going for the ball,” Madewell said of Bratcher’s game-tying TD. “Jacob has been a huge asset for us. He’s a great kid, he’s got a great work ethic, and he just does so much for this team.”
In overtime, Shelton called his own number for the Falcons on first-and-goal, reaching the 1-yard line before taking a punishing hit from Brandon Rich. Lincoln found the end zone a play later, however, when Buchanan went in up the middle.
Another facemask not only kept the Pioneers’ attempt at matching Lincoln’s touchdown alive, it moved them down to the 5-yard line for a first-and-goal situation. But Perkins and Jevon Ramsey were both knocked back for losses, and on third down Wood was tripped up by a falling defender, and was unable to reach a Paz pass.
On their final play the Pioneers tried to go to the air again, but Lincoln linebacker Zerian Mastin burst through the middle of the line, sacking Paz and sealing the narrow win for the home team.
Paz finished with 198 total yards, passing for 130 and carrying the ball himself 11 times for 68 more. Ramsey had 32 yards on 17 carries, drawing tight coverage from the Falcons all night.
Buchanan’s 83 ground yards led the Falcons, who rushed for 205 yards and passed for 49 more. Lincoln County was penalized eight times for a total of 54 yards, while the Pioneers — who were charged for 135 yards on 10 flags against DeKalb a week ago, were never hit with a penalty flag.
Warren County continues its five-game road swing next week, with a trip to White County.
Statistics
Falcons 20, Pioneers 13, OT
WCHS 0 0 0 13 0 — 13
LCHS 7 0 6 0 7 — 20
First Quarter
LC — Chris Shelton 25 run (R.J. Sandmeyer kick), 7:25.
Third Quarter
LC — Jeremy Ramsey 10 run (kick blocked), 3:28.
Fourth Quarter
WC — Nick Cantrell 6 pass from Josh Paz (kick failed), 11:13.
WC — Jacob Bratcher 45 punt return (Tony Garibaldi kick), 2:10.
Overtime
LC — Quan Buchanan 1 run (Sandmeyer kick).
Team Statistics
Team WC LC
First Downs 15 14
Rushes-Yds 36-123 45-205
Passing Yds 130 49
Return Yds 83 54
C-A-I 9-22-1 3-16-2
Fumbles-Lost 1-0 1-0
Punts-Avg. 4-34.5 3-43.5
Pen.-Yds 0-0 8-54
Individual Statistics
Warren County Rushing: Josh Paz 11-68, Jevon Ramsey 17-32, Perkins 6-19, Evan Moran 2-4.
Lincoln County Rushing: Quan Buchanan 19-83, Chris Shelton 11-48, Jeremy Ramsey 10-65, Brince Ellis 1-9, Matt Moran 3-8, Blake Dorris 1-(minus-8).
Warren County Passing: Josh Paz 9-21-1 130, Nick Cantrell 0-1-0 0.
Lincoln County Passing: Chris Shelton 3-13-1 49, Brince Ellis 0-3-1 0.
Warren County Receiving: Adam Wood 3-44, Ethan Womack 2-26, Ben Dunn 2-41, Nick Cantrell 2-19.
Lincoln County Receiving: Blake Dorris 1-22, Brad Shelton 1-23, Cameron Thomison 1-4.