By Brandon Jones
Contributing Writer
INDIANAPOLIS â??? Senior quarterback Dexter Taylor and the Warren
Central offensive line went to work early and in businesslike fashion
Nov. 26 in leading the third-ranked Warriors to their third consecutive
Class 5A state championship, 55-20, over unranked Hamilton Southeastern.
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The Warriors (14-1) are talented enough on the offensive side of
the football to win many ballgames without much trouble. However, when
you add in the fact that Hamilton Southeasternâ??s offense turned the
ball over after going three-and-out on its possession, you end up with
scenarios such as the six first-half touchdowns with which Warren
Central lit up the RCA Dome scoreboard.
â??Our kids came to play every night, bounced back from a tough loss
to Lawrence North and played well really well all six games in the
playoffs,â? said Warren Central coach Kevin Wright, who had the
following to say about this Warren Central squad compared with some of
the outstanding Warrior teams of the past:
â??This team has to rank right up there. Other than the Lawrence North game, we played as well as we could play.â?
Yikes.
The Royals received the opening kickoff and started their first
drive at their own 17. After getting nothing going through the air or
on the ground, they were forced to punt from deep in their own
territory.
Warren Centralâ??s potent offense is enough to scare any opposing
defense that takes the field. The fact that its first drive began in
Hamilton Southeastern territory only magnified the dominance. The
Warriors wasted no time as the Royals, focusing on talented running
back Darren Evans, forgot to account for the teamâ??s other Mr. Football
candidate, Taylor.
Taylor ran for 26 yards on his first carry, then waltzed into the
end zone after a 22-yard scamper on his second rushing attempt. The
Warriorsâ?? Machy Magdalinos added the first of seven extra-point kicks,
and with 9:09 remaining in the opening quarter, the score was 7-0.
After gaining over 20 yards of offense and earning two first downs
on the ensuing possession, things started to look up for Hamilton
Southeastern. Running back Josh Powers fumbled, however, and the
Warriors pounced on it at the HSE 42.
It was now time for Evans to go to work. A heavy dosage of the
junior tailback was the focus early on in the possession, and
Southeastern was ready. Sort of.
Forcing the Warriors to make a decision on 4th-and-2, the Royals
defense appeared to have the inside running game figured out. However,
they once again forgot to account for Taylor, who not only ran for the
first down but gained 27 yards to set up the next Warren score. It was
Evansâ?? turn to strike paydirt this time as he went into the end zone
untouched for a 14-0 advantage for the Warriors.
Things turned from bleak to worse for Hamilton Southeastern as the
Royals attempted to get back into the contest via the passing game. On
the very first play of their next drive, quarterback Taylor Hoffmanâ??s
pass was picked off by Warrenâ??s defensive MVP, junior Jerimy Finch.
Finch displayed a variety of sneaky moves in getting the ball all the
way down to the Royalsâ?? 3. Two plays later, the Warriors poured it on
with another touchdown run by Taylor.
â??It wasnâ??t a fluke that we were here,â? said Southeastern coach Rob
Cutter. â??We beat some good football teams and we deserved to be here. I
just wish that we couldâ??ve played better.
â??We knew coming in that things would have to go well for us to win. But we started out by turning the ball over twice.â?
With three minutes still left in the first quarter, the score was now 21-0.
Southeastern showed signs of life on its next possession and
finally gave its supporters something to cheer about. After a fair
catch on the kickoff, Royal running back Marcus Spann carried the ball
for his longest sprint of the evening. A 50-yard march into Warren
Centralâ??s side of the field gave the squad some optimism, and
Southeastern carried that momentum all the way into the end zone when
an eight-yard connection between Hoffman and Nico Walker capped off a
six-play, 82-yard drive. Following Chris Summersâ?? point after, the
Royals had cut the lead to 14 points with 10 seconds remaining in the
first quarter.
The momentum Southeastern had just gained evaporated nine plays
later. The Warriorsâ?? longest drive to that point netted 80 yards and,
to no oneâ??s surprise, all of that yardage was acquired on the ground.
The Warriorsâ?? O-line overpowered the Royals as Taylor gained 46 yards
and Evans the remaining 34, with Taylor earning yet another touchdown
on a 13-yard run. The Warriors were now back ahead, 28-7.
After forcing a Royals punt, the Warren offense went back to work
and put the dagger in Southeasternâ??s hopes. Senior Brad Ellington got
into the mix this time with a seven-yard sweep where he found the left
corner of the end zone, padding Warrenâ??s lead at 35-7.
The Warriorsâ?? defense must have felt as if it was not garnering
enough attention as the offense was putting on a dominating
performance. Southeastern understood that it clearly needed to pass the
ball to have any shot of staying with the amazing Warren O â?¦ and it
cost them. Finch picked off a second Hoffman pass and once again weaved
through would-be tacklers, all the way to the end zone this time, as
the Warriors added to their already dominating lead.
A missed extra point was the only thing that went wrong for the Warriors all evening as they now held a 41-7 lead.
As one rabid Warren Central fan in the stands exclaimed after the
Warriors scored their sixth touchdown of the first half: “I toldja!
Forty points in the first half! I TOLDJA!”
Hamilton Southeastern did manage to drive the ball into Warrior
territory late in the second quarter to provide some excitement. Senior
kicker Chris Summers came onto the field for a 60-yard field goal
attempt as time expired, but a short kick meant the first half of
Southeasternâ??s dream season finale would end with the Royals staring at
a 34-point deficit.
Something unique happened on the Warriors first possession of the
second half: a punt! The Warriors could get nothing going, and turned
the ball over after three plays.
Southeastern, however, also got nada
and, obviously rattled by the fact that they were staring at a 90-plus
yards to put points on the board, the Royals once again turned the ball
over. The Royals mishandled the ball attempting a punt from their own
end zone, and Warren central senior Joey Hodges pounced on it at the
2-yard line.
One play later, as expected, the Warriors cashed in. Evans powered
through the Royalsâ?? defensive line to put the Warriors on top, 48-7.
Though the game was far out of hand at this point, Southeastern
managed to put two more scores on the board. Two Hoffman passes to
Jacob Graham, along with a Taylor PASS (his only one of the evening) to
Chris Adkins, would cap off the scoring
The final: 55-20.
â??Defensively, we just couldnâ??t hold them — their offense is
incredible,â? Cutter said. â??The speed that they have was something that
we could not match.
â??This isnâ??t unusual for them to win like this.â?
Taylor ended up with 158 yards rushing on 12 attempts and had
three rushing touchdowns to go along with one passing TD to lead the
Warriors.
â??I have not seen a better football player than Dexter Taylor this
year,â? Wright said. â??Anybody that watched the first half tonight has to
get his vote (Mr. Football).
â??I never thought I would have a quarterback better than (2003 Mr. Football) Desmond Tardy, but Dexter is awfully good.â?
Spann led the Royals with 104 yards rushing to go along with Hoffmanâ??s two touchdown passes.
Wright makes it 2 for 2 this weekend in matching fatherâ??s Sheridan state title
Warren Centralâ??s lopsided victory allowed Wright to save face at
the family dinner table following his fatherâ??s seventh state
championship Friday. (In his 40th season at Sheridan, Larry â??Budâ?
Wright led the Blackhawks to the Class A title with a 21-7 win over
Knightstown.)
â??If I didnâ??t win and he did, I would have heard about it for the
rest of the year,â? said Wright the Coaching Genius Younger. â??Itâ??s been
a great Thanksgiving weekend for our whole family, and Iâ??m just glad we
could come out on top.â?
Southeasternâ??s Summers wins Mental Attitude Award
Not surprisingly, seven Class 5A championship game records were set
by the Warren Central Colts â??? er, Warriors. That includes six new
marks, and a couple of â??em arenâ??t what youâ??d consider good records:
â?¢ Most combined points: 75 (OK, Hamilton Southeastern helped on this one)
â?¢ Longest kickoff return: 76 yards, by Anthony Vaden
â?¢ Most PAT kicks (individual): 7, by Machy Magdalinos
â?¢ Most PAT kicks (team): 7
â?¢ Most penalties: 9
â?¢ Most penalty yards: 93
Additionally, Warren tied its own record for most touchdowns with
eight, a record it originally set two years ago in a 57-7 rout of Penn.
Southeasternâ??s Summers wins Mental Attitude Award
Hamilton Southeastern senior kicker/punter Chris Summers is the
2005 recipient of the Phil N. Eskew Mental Attitude Award for Class 5A
presented by the IHSAA Executive Committee. An Associated Press
All-State selection in 2004, Summers made 14 field goals and 42 extra
points to total 84 points this season, including five field goals of 40
yards or longer with a long of 52.
On kickoffs, he has had 35 touchbacks. In punting, Summers averaged
38 yards, with 14 inside the 20-yard line and just one touchback. He
ranks 44th in his senior class of 708 with an 11.18 cumulative grade
point average on a 12.0 scale.
â??Chris is a role model to his peers,â? said Robert Albano, Hamilton
Southeasternâ??s principal. â??He sets a good example in faith, spirit,
kindness, and compassion. He is a gentleman at all times, and he has
earned the respect of all of his teachers, coaches, and our entire
administrative team.â?
The son of Clay and Diane Summers serves as a volunteer peer tutor,
a Special Olympics volunteer, and a dinner server to underprivileged
children at Edna Martin Center. Summers also has volunteered for the
Hamilton County Good Samaritan Christmas Project to supply needy
families with food and toys.
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