In a hard-fought football battle on Friday night in Northeast Arkansas, Warren faced off against Rivercrest in a semifinal showdown that kept fans on the edge of their seats. The game featured intense plays, strategic moves, and a roller coaster of emotions, ultimately culminating in Rivercrest securing a 24-14 victory and earning a ticket to the state finals.
The game kicked off with Warren winning the toss and choosing to receive. Jordan’s return set the tone for Warren, but a series of setbacks, including penalties and an interception, led to a scoreless first drive. An illegal blocking penalty on the punt would pin the Colts inside the 15 yard line to start their opening drive. On a third and one, the Warren defense would show their strength and stop the Colts quarterback, forcing a punt.
Warren would take over at midfield with an eye toward the end zone, but Rivercrest would not budge as Warren turned the ball over on downs after a failed fourth down attempt.
Rivercrest took over with 5:44 left in the quarter and with excellent field position. Colt’s quarterback, Washington would get things going on a third and 17, finding his receiver for a 24 yard gain. Things were looking bleak for Warren, but a big play by Ervin Rivera stopped a Rivercrest reverse and set up a fourth and three as the Colts were galloping in Warren territory. Warren’s defense, a staple all year long, would come up big again and stop the Colts on fourth down and the Lumberjacks would take over deep in their own territory with 3:44 left in the quarter.
Warren would try to get things going on offense, but an errant pass by Jackson Denton would be picked off by the Rivercrest defensive back and the Colts would find themselves with the ball near midfield. But again, the Warren defense would stand tall and force another turnover on downs. As the clock wound down, Denton connected with Miller for a 20-yard screen, ending the quarter with the game tied at 0-0.
Following a Lumberjack turnover, Rivercrest tailback would take the first handoff of their drive for a quick pick up of 10 yards and a first down. Turner would pick up six yards on the next play, foreshadowing his play for the rest of the game. With 11:02 left in the half, Turner would carry the ball across midfield for another Colts first down and another big play up the middle. On third and four, Colts QB Washington would scramble down to the Warren 30 with 9:54 – Warren was on its heels for the first time in the game. After a completed pass got the Colts to the three yard line, Turner would take a direct snap and find the end zone. The two point conversion would fail, resulting in a 6-0 lead for the Colts.
Cam Davis would return the kickoff to the Warren 35, but the offense stalled and was forced to punt with 6:20 left in the half.
In a sign of things to come, Rivercrest running back Koby Turner would put the Colts on his back. Turner carried the load on the Colts ensuing drive, culminating in another Rivercrest touchdown. The two point conversion would be successful and the Colts would find themselves with a 14-0 lead with 2:22 left in the first half.
Special teams have been a highlight for the Lumberjacks this season. Neondre Thomas would continue that trend with a kick off return to the Warren 49 yard line, setting up the Jacks with great field position. Denton would immediately find Antonio Jordan on a crossing route for a 36 yard gain. Warren was knocking on the door after a roughing the passer penalty put the ball on the Rivercrest 10 yard line with 1:19 left in the half. A completed pass to Miller would get the Jacks to the five yard line when the wheels began to fall off for the Lumberjack’s drive. On the next play, Denton would be sacked for an 11 yard loss. On fourth down, Denton would find Antonio Jordan in the end zone, but a pass interference penalty would negate the score. Denton’s pass to Thomas would fall incomplete on the next play and the Lumberjacks would fail to score as time dwindled in the half. The teams would go to their respective locker rooms at half time with Rivercrest holding a 14-0 lead.
Rivercrest would start their first drive of the second half at the 20 yard line following a touch back from Warren kicker, Allen Juarez. Following a quick three and out, the Colts would punt the ball to Warren standout, Antonio Jordan, who would return the kick back to midfield setting up Warren with excellent field position.
Warren would misfire on three plays and would have to punt.
Rivercrest would take over and begin feeding Kolby Turner (who had over 100 yards rushing in the first half). On the first play from scrimmage, Turner would rumble 50 yards, setting up what appeared to be another Rivercrest score. A penalty on the next play would push Rivercrest back to the 35. With 9:24 left in the quarter and facing a third and two, Turner took the handoff and streaked up the middle for a big gain to the 12 yard line. After two big defensive plays, Warren would come up big again on third down, keeping the Colts out of the end zone. On fourth and five, Ervin Rivera would run down Colts QB Washington for a drive-ending sack with 7:04 left in the quarter.
The Lumberjack offense couldn’t get things going, however and were forced to punt after three plays.
The teams would trade defensive blows for the remainder of the third quarter. When the dust settled, and time expired in the quarter, Rivercrest still held a 14-0 lead.
As the fourth quarter started, Warren’s defense would come up big again stopping Rivercrest on a third down situation, forcing a punt with 9:11 left in the game.
Freshman quarterback Denton would then connect on a long pass play, putting Warren on the Rivercrest 21 yard line. On the next play, Denton would find Neondre Thomas in the end zone for a 21 yard strike and things were beginning to look promising for the ‘Jacks. However, the snap was mishandled on the extra point attempt and the resulting score would be 14 for Rivercrest and 6 for Warren with with only eight minutes left in the game.
Juarez would kick another touchback, resulting in Rivercrest taking over at their 20. Turner would immediately set the tone for the rest of the game with a 50 yard run on third down. With 6:30 left, Turner would take the next snap and rumble 15 yards, breaking three or four tackles in the process, finding the end zone for a Rivercrest touchdown. The two point conversion was good and the Colts were now up 22-6 .
Warren would find themselves pinned inside their 20 after the kick off. Denton would be sacked on the first play of the drive, resulting in a nine yard loss. On second down, Denton would find himself running from a host of Colt defenders and would be sacked in the end zone for a Rivercrest safety. The safety put Rivercrest up 24-6 with 5:02 remaining in the game.
Warren would attempt an onside kick but couldn’t recover. The Rivercrest offense couldn’t get anything going and was forced to punt with 3:02 left in the game.
With their season on the line, Denton would lead the ‘Jacks down the field for a touchdown. Following two roughing the passer penalties, Denton would find Jordan for a 30 yard touchdown, closing the gap to 24-12. Jordan would run the wild jack formation on the conversion and find Ervin Rivera in the end zone to make it 24-14 with only 43 seconds remaining.
Rivercrest would recover the ensuing onside kick and run out the clock with the final score being 24-14.
The lumberjack defense played a great game, but found themselves on the field for much of the second half. The Rivercrest running game wore them down in the end with Kolby Turner racking up over 260 yards on the ground.
This brings the Warren season to an end. The ‘Jacks had a fantastic season that saw them take home a conference title, an undefeated regular season, and a top 4 ranking in the state. The Jacks have a lot of fire power coming back next season and you can be sure Coach Hembree will immediately start working on a plan to get the Jacks back in State Title contention for the 2024 season.
