As football fans across the nation were recovering from their Thanksgiving feast, Freshman Quarterback Jackson Denton was leading the Warren offense to a blowout victory over Ozark and trip to the state semi finals on the day after Turkey Day.
Warren was firing on all cylinders as the offense scored on each of its first seven possessions of the game.
Warren, led on offense by Denton and standout wide receiver Antonio Jordan, would rack up two quick touchdown drives before Ozark could gather themselves.
With Warren leading 14-0 early, Ozark would mount an 80 yard scoring drive of their own with quarterback Koby Wilbanks finding the end zone on a 14 yard keeper to close the gap to 14-7 with 10 minutes left in the second quarter, but that was all the Lumberjack defense would allow for the night. The offense was far from finished.
Denton and the Lumberjack offense would find the end zone again on its next drive. On the third play of the drive, Denton would find Tremon Miller in the end zone for a score. Juarez would add the extra point and make it 21-7 Jacks.
Ozark would take the ensuing kick off but their offense couldn’t find its groove as the Warren defense stood strong forcing a punt.
Warren would score on its fourth possession of the half with a field goal from standout kicker, Allen Juarez with five minutes left in the half. The field goal would give Warren a 24-7 lead.
The Warren defense would stuff the Hillbillies again on the next drive. Faced with a punting situation at their own 28, Ozark would shank the punt, setting up a short field for Warren and another score making it 31-7 with only a few minutes left in the half.
Sensing their season was on the line, Ozark would find themselves in a fourth down situation on their next drive. With only one minute remaining in the half, the lumberjack defense held its ground and the offense took over with a short field and a minute left to work.
On the very next play, Denton found Antonio Jordan for the 40 yard strike. Following the Juarez extra point the jacks found themselves with a 38-7 lead at halftime.
Warren would score quickly in the second half, making it 45-7 and forcing the sportsmanship rule to take effect. The clock would not stop the rest of the way and the game ended with Warren advancing to the next round of the playoffs 45-7.
On the night the Warren defense would hold Ozark to only 220 yards. The high powered Lumberjack offense would put up 393 yards of total offense, led by Jackson Denton's 254 yards and four touchdown passes on 11 completions in 13 attempts. Jackson would carry the ball 14 times for Warren, compiling 101 yards with one touchdown. Antonio Jordan would lead the receiving group with six receptions, 111 yards, and two scores. For the season, Jackson Denton adds to his freshman passing record with a season total of 3,188 yards and 44 touchdown passes. Standout Junior Antonio Jordan joined the thousand yard club after his performance. He now stands at 1,106 yards and 14 touchdowns.
Head coach Bo Hembree was proud of his squad following the game, stating that he thought the men had played "their most complete game of the year."
Next week Warren will make the long trip towards the Northeast corner of the state as the Lumberjacks take on the Rivercrest Colts in the semi finals of the state playoffs. Coach Hembree told us that, "Rivercrest is very talented. They have speed up and down their roster and are very physical up front." There's no doubt this will be Warren's toughest match up to date.
Warren will enter the semi final matchup riding a 13 game win streak. Rivercrest, the champion out of the 3-4A , is 11-2 with two early season losses to Mills and Valley View.
Every year the Lumberjacks have a goal to play the final game of the season in War Memorial Stadium. They are one step away from accomplishing that goal and playing for what would be their 5th State Title in school history. So, if you can, leave Warren a little early on Friday and make the trip up to Rivercrest and help cheer the Lumberjacks to victory!
The Eagle staff would like to thank our friend, David King, for providing game statistics this season.
