WARHILL 35, #9 POQUOSON 28
JAMES CITY --- In front of a raucous Homecoming crowd, the Warhill football team provided their fans with an early Halloween gift, as the Lions knocked Poquoson from the ranks of the undefeated with a 35-28 win on Friday night at Wanner Stadium.
In a true see-saw battle, neither team enjoyed more than a single touchdown lead, with ties of seven and 14 at the end of the first quarter and first half. However, it was the hosts who scored the game’s final 14 points to transform a seven-point deficit into a one-score win.
The game itself was not decided until the final minute. Needing a touchdown to pull within a point, the Islanders, who ran the ball well all evening, relied on a rare 18-yard pass from Keegan Webb to James Miller to set up 1st-and-10 at their 46. A pass interference call on the next play pushed the ball to the Lion 39 with 50 ticks remaining on the clock.
But the defense saved its best for last, forcing Webb backwards and finally fumbling, with linebacker Larry Edwards falling on the loose ball to seal the win.
“They (Poquoson) have fumbled the past few games,” said Edwards, showing the importance of watching film. “I was waiting for it to happen, even though I wanted to scoop-and-score.”
Warhill was the beneficiary of a Herculean effort from wide receiver turned running back Braden Terns. On the Lions next to last scoring drive, the senior ran on seven consecutive plays. His fourth run provided a crucial first down, while the seventh set up a fourth-and-one from the Islander 1, where Strickland showed off the Warhill “tush push” for the score.
“I’m kind of tired,” said Terns, who played both ways, also servicing the Lions at linebacker. “But I love running the ball, it’s what I do.” Although he gained just 19 yards on the series of carries, Terns scored on a 64-yard scamper two plays after Poquoson’s Parker Welsh had returned a Strickland pass 71 yards for a pick-six. For the night, the senior garnered 177 yards on 26 carries.
Strickland was surprisingly honest about whether he had help from his linemen. “All of my runs are by design, where I can pull back and go.” As far as his scoring play, he added, “We practiced that.”
With the loss, Poquoson (7-1) was unable to clinch the Bay Rivers District on Friday, and mathematically left Lafayette (7-1) in position to stake a claim, although Poquoson won the head-to-head battle 10-7 on September 26. Meanwhile, Warhill (5-2) pulled into a three-way tie for third with New Kent and Tabb, who happen to be their final two regular season opponents.
Kaden Scales scored a pair touchdowns on the night. The first one put Warhill on the board, as the senior receiver snared a 25-yard pass from Strickland, and his night finished with the game winning touchdown reception from Strickland.
Poquoson (7-1) 7, 7, 14, 0 -- 28
Warhill (5-2) 7, 7, 7, 14 -- 35
P - Cody Little 11 run (Aydin Herak kick)
W - Kaden Scales 25 pass from Carson Strickland (David Weyrauch kick)
W – Braden Terns 21 run (Weyrauch kick)
P - Austin Conley 10 run (Herak kick)
P – Parker Welsh 71 int return (kick blocked)
W – Terns 64 run (Weyrauch kick)
P – Owen Cupp 10 run (run successful)
W – Carson Strickland 1 run (pass failed)
W – Scales 14 pass from Strickland (Terns run)
P W
1st Downs 16, 17
Rush – Yds 33-239, 41-266
Pass Yds. 18, 84
C- A–I 1-4-0, 6-14-1
Punts – Avg. 3-30, 2-43
Pen. Yds. 8-68, 1-15
Fumb – Lost 2-2, 0-0
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