Staff writer
Gaining all 312 of its yards on the ground, the Peabody-Burns Warriors looked one dimensional against Rural Vista on Friday at Hope. The ground attack was working so well, however, that the contest ended 58-12 with a minute remaining in the third quarter.
“This was an outstanding effort by the team,” head coach David Pickens said. “We were able to get our JV in for some offense. Tonight was the definition of pride and poise.”
The game began with the PBHS squad immediately fumbling the ball back to the Heat.
Two plays later, the Warriors defense forced a fumble and Kiefer Larsen recovered at the Warriors 25-yard line. Braxton Kyle pitched to Clayton Philpott on second down and Philpott finished the drive in the end zone. The conversion failed but PBHS was ahead 6-0 with 10 minutes left in the first.
PBHS stopped Rural Vista on the next series and forced a punt. However, Kyle was intercepted on the only pass in the contest to set up the Heat at the Warriors 30-yard line. Aided by an interference penalty, Rural Vista found the end zone on a third-and-goal at the 10. The conversion pass fell short but the game was tied 6-6 with 6:53 on the clock.
Philpott took the ensuing kickoff 78 yards for the score. Kyle exploited the middle of the defense for the conversion run. PBHS led 14-6.
Working from their own 15 on their next possession, the Warriors had runs by Philpott, Kyle, and Brooks Hodges. Philpott finished the drive early in the second quarter with a first-and-goal run from the 7-yard line. The conversion failed but PBHS led 20-6.
The Heat cut the margin to 20-12 with 8:24 left in the second quarter on a 65-yard scoring drive. Kaden Gibson intercepted the conversion pass.
Kevin Baatrup fielded a Rural Vista onside kick at midfield. On second-and-3, Hodges went to the left side of the field for a 30-yard touchdown. Kyle pitched to Philpott for a 2-point conversion and the Warriors had a 28-12 lead with 7:37 on the clock.
The final score of the first half was set up by a fourth-and-6 fake punt to move Peabody-Burns to the Rural Vista 30. Three downs later, Kyle found the middle of the end zone on a 14-yard run. Hodges tacked on 2 with a run through the middle. PBHS took a 36-12 edge at the half.
The Heat opened the second half with a five-play drive but Hodges blitzed on first-and-10 at the Rural Vista 29 and forced a fumble. Colton Terronez recovered to set up the PBHS offense at the 19-yard line.
Philpott took the first down play into the end zone. Kyle earned 2 on the conversion run. PBHS led 44-12 less than one minute into the third quarter.
The Warriors defense smothered the Heat on the next drive. Rural Vista punted and Baatrup set up the offense with a short field at the Rural Vista 27-yard line. Hodges got the score on a first-and-goal run from the 4-yard line. Kyle connected with Larsen for the extra 2.
Dakota Reynolds set up the next score with an interception with 2:00 left in the third period. From the Warriors 25, Kyle headed down the right sideline to set up first-and-goal. Hodges finished the drive with a 4-yard rush. The game ended with 1:10 left on the clock in the quarter.
“This is a well-coached team that knows how to exploit weaknesses,” Pickens said. “They had a handful of plays that were working early. Their quarterback was on. He was hitting the spot. We adjusted because our team knows they have to stick together no matter what happens in a ball game. They just keep fighting.”
Hodges had 7 carries for 52 yards and 3 touchdowns in the contest. He also created a fumble that led to a score and had 2 tackles for loss of yards.
“We came out a little slow in the beginning,” Hodges said. “We kept working and things came together.”
Kyle had 9 runs for 119 yards and a touchdown. Philpott had 10 rushes for 133 yards and three scores. He also ran back a kickoff for a touchdown.
Larsen led the defense with 5.5 tackles and 1 sack. Gibson and Kyle followed with 5 stops each. The 7-0 undefeated Warriors will travel next to Burlingame.