By Brandon Jones
Contributing Writer
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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