Warriors Get Second Win Of The Season!

The Winamac Warriors came to Culver Community High School looking to establish themselves as a team to be reckoned with. Having only played three games heading into the matchup with Culver, the Warriors were itching to get things put together against a quality opponent. That is exactly what they did.

On their opening drive, the Warriors would work the ball into Cavalier territory. On the first play from scrimmage, Junior quarterback Russell Compton would send Senior running back Trent Fox in motion from his left wing position. At precisely the right moment, Compton snapped the ball, reversed out from underneath his center, and handed the ball to Fox, who was speeding behind the offensive line on a “Jet Sweep” path off the right side of the offensive formation. Fox would fly down the Cavaliers’ sideline on his way to a huge thirty-five yard gain. Just two plays later, on second down with nine yards to go, Winamac would turn to Junior Jaden Terry to get things going on the scoreboard. Starting at a wing position, just off the hip of Junior right tackle Logan Schultz, Terry would get behind the 6’4 260lb tackle, as well as Senior Patrick Kiefer, who both athletically exploded out of their stances before pulling across the formation. As Schultz and Kiefer kicked out the defensive end and linebacker to the left of the formation, Terry tucked in behind his teammates, and strutted his way twenty-one yards down the field for the first score of the game.

Not to be outdone, the Cavaliers immediately went to work on their home field. Attacking, as they normally do, out of their double tight end, Straight-T formation, the Cavs’ would push and muscle their way down the field behind their massive offensive line. In a major surprise to all in attendance, it would be the passing game that would get the Cavaliers in the end zone on their first possession. On second down with nine yards to go and the ball resting at the Winamac twenty yard line, Junior quarterback Tucker Fisher would fake a handoff to his running back, who headed to the left of the formation. The play-action deception allowed Sophomore running back Emiliano Ortiz to slip past the Winamac linebackers, as he ran a “seam route” down the left hash from his running back position. Ortiz simply had to turn around to locate the ball and he was able to put the Cavaliers on the board for the first time in the ballgame.

The first half fireworks would not yet be done. On the ensuing possession, Winamac would once again turn to Jaden Terry. Running the identical play that got Terry into the end zone, Winamac would once again run their wingback counter play, and again, Terry would tuck in behind Schultz and Kiefer as he trucked his way thirty-six yards down the field, before being caught by Sophomore defensive back Ian Brown. The Warriors would not hesitate to take a shot at the end zone on the following play. With the ball sitting at the Culver sixteen yard line, Compton would do a basic three-step drop-back, before unleashing a pinpoint pass to teammate Brayden Lynch. Lynch had run a basic fade route to the corner of the end zone, getting behind the secondary, and hauling in the tight spiral.

After the Cavaliers were unable to get anything going on their following possession, the Warriors went back to work on offense, getting the ball to midfield, before unleashing the arm of Russell Compton once again. On a bootleg, play action pass, Compton would fake a handoff going to the left of the offensive formation, before rolling back to the right. With his eyes down field, Compton would locate Lynch once again, lobbing a perfect pass on a corner route to the Winamac sideline. Lynch would pull in the pass, then make a break down the field, picking up approximately twenty more yards with the run after catch. The areal assault on the drive would not yet be over. On the following play, Compton would once again drop back to throw, this time looking off the defense as he briefly glanced to his left as he dropped back. After a quick move up into the pocket, Compton unleashed a rocket to Lynch on an out route, which the Senior once again pulled in, standing in the end zone for a sixteen yard touchdown reception with just twenty-four seconds remaining in the first half. Following the successful extra point attempt, the Warriors now led the Cavaliers 21-6, which would be the score as the two teams retreated into their respective locker rooms at halftime.

The Cavaliers began with the ball to start the second half, but after failing to get anything going on their opening drive, the ball would be punted back to the Warriors, who would pick up where they had left off. Trent Fox would once again provide some excitement. On his second carry of the third quarter, the 5’11 175lb Senior would take a handoff from Compton, on yet another wingback counter play. This time Fox would fly sixty yards down the field, before being caught by Emiliano Ortiz, who exhibited great effort to prevent a touchdown. However, with the ball on the five yard line, the Warriors would once again turn to the arm of Russell Compton, who would toss his third touchdown of the game, this time to Fox, who hauled in the pass. Following the successful point after, the Warriors found themselves on top 28-6 in the third quarter. The Cavaliers would continue to show their “never say die” attitude as they continued to work the ball down the field on their following possession. With 10:50 remaining in the game, Culver would turn to Sophomore running back Shane Shuman to pound the ball into the end zone for the final score of the game, coming from one yard out.

In the end, Winamac’s multi-dimensional offensive attack appeared to be too much for Culver, as the Warriors would run 44 plays in the game for 320 yards and four touchdowns. The Starke Count Co-Op Play of the Game on WKVI went to Jaden Terry, for his 21-yard touchdown run in the first half. The Ashley Derrickson/Five Star Player of the Game honor went to Winamac’s Trent Fox, who had 153 all-purpose yards, rushing for 127, while also pulling in 26 receiving yards, which included a 5-yard touchdown reception. The Warriors improve to 2-2 on the season, with a 1-2 record in the Hoosier North Athletic Conference, while Culver drops to 1-5 overall and 0-4 in HNAC play.

Game Statistics

Winamac-28

Rushing: 35 Attempts 224 Yards 1 Touchdown

Jaden Terry: 4-65-1; Russell Compton: 9-(-)4; Hayden Clark: 7-17; Jadon Jones: 5-14; Trent Fox: 8-127; Cameron Benesh: 2-5

Passing: 6 Completions 9 Attempts 96 Yards 3 Touchdowns

Russell Compton: 6-9-96-3

Receiving: 6 Receptions 96 Yards 3 Touchdowns

Jaden Terry: 1-6-1; Brayden Lynch: 3-64-1; Trent Fox: 2-26-1

Culver-12

Rushing: 35 Attempts 125 Yards 2 Touchdowns

Tucker Fisher: 1-5-1; Emiliano Ortiz: 10-16; Blake Thompson: 8-56; Shane Shuman: 16-48-1

Passing: 2 Completions 8 Attempts 24 Yards 1 Touchdown

Tucker Fisher: 2-8-24-1

Receiving: 2 Receptions 24 Yards 1 Touchdown

Emiliano Ortiz: 2-24-1

*Statistical Information In This Article Provided By Kankakee Valley Broadcasting Staff. These Are Not Official Game Statistics*