Warrior Run Cruises to 54-8 win over Northwest Area

Written by: Matt Beltz on Sunday, September 24th, 2023. Follow Matt Beltz on Twitter.

SHICKSHINNY – There are always teams that are better than their record may indicate. Although a team is what its record says, there are many variables involved.

Warrior Run has been one of those teams this season. The Defenders played well but dropped a pair of one-possession heartbreakers to open the season. After starting the year 0-3, they finally came out on top of a close game last week.

And on Saturday, they further built some momentum with a lopsided 54-8 win over a sputtering but young Northwest team.

“I said after Week 3 that Weeks 1-3 would make us better and I was going to find out what kind of team I had,” said Zechman. “I thought I knew the answer and they are proving that I did. They’re resilient and tough. We were so close Weeks 1 and 2 with having a chance to win. I knew once we got one win, we’d get the momentum going, get the train on the track, and these kids have been getting better and better. Confidence helps with that on both sides of the ball.”

Normally a team that goes to the air as its strength on offense, Warrior Run adjusted its game plan against the Rangers, anticipating that there could be some weather conditions not conducive to throwing the ball. Although the weather turned out to be not that bad, the run game still turned out to the story for the Defenders, who rushed for 265 yards.

On the other side of the ball, Warrior Run held Northwest to -4 rushing yards, forcing them to go to the air for a majority of the game, where they picked off Northwest quarterback Jace McCoy three times. Northwest also lost a pair of fumbles, making it five turnovers on the night, and nine turnovers in their last two games.

“The effort is tremendous, so you can’t fault the kids for that. We’re just not football players yet. We need to learn how to play the game and it’s a slow go,” said Northwest coach Leigh Bonzcewski. “At one point tonight, I think we had four freshmen on defense due to injuries. But, it is what it is, and that’s how we have to play. They just need to grow. We’re getting there, little bursts here and there, but when things go bad, they go bad.”

Northwest simply didn’t have any answers for Carter Marr. The senior receiver and defensive back had a tremendous game with two of Warrior Run’s three interceptions, and he also caught five passes for 128 yards on offense and a pair of scores. He finished with 188 all-purpose yards on seven total touches.

He returned one of those picks 46 yards for a score at the 3:46 mark of the third quarter to push the game into the mercy rule. His other pick came in the second quarter, and it set up Colby LeBarron’s 58-yard touchdown run on the first play of Warrior Run’s subsequent drive, which extended their lead to 20-0 at the 5:01 mark of the second quarter.

LeBarron, meanwhile, led the way on the ground for the Defenders with 150 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns. His first came on a 37-yard scamper to put the Defenders up 6-0 on their first possession early in the first quarter.

“We thought we’d have to come in and run the ball, although the weather turned out a little better than anticipated,” said Zechman. “I was concerned with the weather playing a bit of a factor but the offensive line was just doing a great job getting the push and Colby was running the ball hard, and that set up our passing game little more, so that made things a bit easier.”

He also threw a touchdown pass, as he found Marr for a short eight-yard touchdown out of the wildcat formation.

Marr also scored on a 69-yard pass from Ryan Newton late in the first quarter, turning on the afterburners and beating the Northwest secondary after the catch with his speed.

“Carter Marr had an awesome game on both sides of the ball, he’s a playmaker. Unfortunately, Sam Hall went down early, but Carter picked it up,” said Zechman.

Northwest was able to avoid the shutout and have something positive come out of the game as Jace McCoy found Trevor Dietz in the end zone for a 15-yard touchdown reception late in the fourth quarter, which capped a seven-play, 70-yard drive. Dietz had seven catches but for only 37 yards as Warrior Run largely limited any big plays for the Rangers, who managed nly 132 yards of offense, the majority of which came on that scoring drive after Warrior Run already led 47-0.

“Jace is doing a great job for us, and some of his mistakes are because he’s trying so hard,” said Bonzcewski. “You can’t fault the kids for that. The effort is there. At the end, we just wanted to do something positive, end on a positive note. We had a lot of young kids out there and they were able to put one on the board.”

Warrior Run 54, Northwest 8
Warrior Run (2-3) 13 13 21 7 – 54
Northwest (1-4) 0 0 0 8 – 8

First quarter
9:05 – (WR) Colby LeBarron 37-yard run (kick blocked), 3-46, :46
2:57 – (WR) Carter Marr 69-yard pass from Ryan Newton (McCormick kick), 2-73, :39

Second quarter
5:01 – (WR) Colby LeBarron 58-yard run (McCormick kick), 1-58, :12
:36 – (WR) Carter Marr 8-yard pass from Colby LeBarron (run failed), 8-60, 2:38

Third quarter
6:31 – (WR) Eli Butler 1-yard run (McCormick kick), 3-7, 1:24
3:46 – (WR) Carter Marr 46-yard interception return (McCormick kick)
3:11 – (WR) Thomas Royles 25-yard run (McCormick kick), 1-25, :30

Fourth quarter
10:28 – (N) Trevor Dietz 15-yard pass from Jace McCoy (Miller run), 7-70, 4:43
3:24 – (WR) Denyn Beachel 3-yard run (McCormick kick), 10-84, 7:04

Statistics

WR NW

First downs 17 8
Rushes-net yards 32-265 20-(-4)
Passing yardage 133 136
Passing 6-13-2-1 16-29-1-3
Fumbles-lost 2-0 4-2
Penalties-yards 2-10 7-41

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING: Warrior Run: Colby LeBarron (17-150-2), Maxwell Fogelman (4-19), Lincoln Hulsizer (3-37), Denyn Beachel (3-32-1), Thomas Royles (1-25-1), Stone Allison (1-3), Eli Butler (1-1-1), Ryan Newton (1-(-1)), TEAM (1-(-1)); Northwest: Jace McCoy (10-(-28)), Adam Chonko
(4-7), Nicholas Stevens (3-8), Trevor Dietz (2-5), Dominic Cavuto (1-4)

PASSING: Warrior Run: Ryan Newton (4-10-116-1-1), James Keifer (1-2-9-0-0), Colby LeBarron (1-1-8-1-0); Northwest: Jace McCoy (16-29-136-1-3)

RECEIVING: Warrior Run: Carter Marr (5-128-2), Colby LeBarron (1-5) ; Northwest: Trevor Dietz (7-37-1), Andrew Bonzcewski (6-79), Loegan Diltz (2-15), Christopher Martinez (1-5)

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