Before Friday night’s kickoff, the Warren crowd commemorated the 25th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks. WoodmenLife provided a 60-by-30-foot American flag that was unfurled on the field as players, coaches, and fans observed.
Warren entered the contest missing several key pieces of its offense. Josiah Steen and Tayshawn Marshall were sidelined after suffering injuries against Fountain Lake.
Once the game began, Sheridan quickly took control.
After an early touchdown pass was erased by a holding penalty, the Yellow Jackets scored on the next play with a 28-yard touchdown run. With the extra point miss the score was 6-0.
Turnovers would quickly cause Warren problems.
Sheridan intercepted Jackson Denton’s pass on the Lumberjacks’ second offensive play.They would make the most of the turnover and score on a 21-yard touchdown pass to make the score 12-0.
The Yellow Jackets defense struck again when they intercepted another of Denton’s passes and returned the interception 50 yards for a touchdown. This time the extra point was good giving Sheridan a 19-0 lead with 6:20 remaining in the first quarter.
Sheridan would score again on a 38-yard touchdown pass to move the score to Sheridan to 25-0.
In the second quarter, the Yellow Jackets continued to show no signs of slowing down, scoring on a 48-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 31-0.
Warren’s special teams play would give them a fantastic opportunity when the pinned the Yellow Jackets at the one yard line on a punt.
On the first play of the drive, the Yellow Jackets fumbled a direct snap to running back Ray Stevens in end zone, and Warren’s Jaxstyn Ingram recovered the loose ball for a touchdown. The extra point was unsuccessful, make the score 31-6 in favor of Sheridan.
On the next drive, Sheridan connected on a one play, 80 yard touchdown pass that took just 10 seconds off of the clock, effectively killing any momentum the Lumberjacks may have gained, and pushing the score to 38-6.
Sheridan would score two more times before the half, one of which was on another Denton interception, taking a 51-6 lead into halftime.
With the mercy rule in effect and the clock running continuously in the second half, Warren would add one final score.
JaKoby Avery broke free for a 42-yard touchdown run. The extra point attempt was good and cut Sheridan’s lead to 51-13.
Just as Warren may have gained momentum again, play was stopped as lightning was spotted in the area. After the two head coaches met on the field, they agreed to end the game with Sheridan leading 51-13.
The loss to Sheridan dropped Warren’s record to 1-2. This was also the final non-conference game on the Lumberjacks’ schedule.
The Lumberjacks will go into a bye week at just the right time. With the injuries they have sustained, a week to rest will be a good thing for sure.
Warren will open 8-4A Conference play on September 25 at 7 p.m. in DeWitt.
