Like an Academy Award winner, David Bruce had too many people to thank Thursday at Herb St. John Stadium. Offensive linemen. Running backs. Quarterback. Placekicker. Defensive backs. Defensive linemen.
In every aspect of football, Bruce’s Veterans High’s Warhawks did something right Thursday to shake up Region 2-AAAA. They only upset one of the league’s preseason favorites, the Westside High Seminoles of Macon, 21-14 in the first region game for both clubs.
Everything pregame pointed to a good night for Westside, like a 2-1 record, a strong showing the Thursday before against Northside and more than 100 points already. Veterans was 0-3 for the non-region portion of 2013, including a hefty loss to the same Northside club.
But Bruce said afterwards there was a reason they played the Eagles, Warner Robins and Harris County. The games taught the Warhawks how to battle, Bruce said.
“The kids played hard and never gave in,” the coach said.
Westside in fact only had one offensive touchdown. Veterans’ defense chipped in a little scoring on a safety while also picking off three of Daquavious Walker’s passes. Warhawk kicker Tim Yaclin had one close PAT kick waved off, but came back later in the game to score a field goal of 47 yards.
Veterans also had to avoid falling behind big early like it did last week at Harris 28-0. The Warhawks instead led 11-0 at one point, but it took one big play at the end of the first half to put the Seminoles in front 14-11 at the break. Veterans regained that lead taking up more than half of the third quarter on a 13-play scoring drive with three third-down conversions.
Bruce’s two-headed running back tandem of Ben Thomas and Desjuan Harris each scoring a rushing touchdown. The home offense was able to avoid the giveaway and sacks against quarterback Logan Byrd.
Bruce and his staff made a defensive move to throw off Westside putting Cortez Broughton back at his natural tackle slot from the end. The move paid off early with a three-and-out series.
Veterans then showed it was going to be able to move the football when, from its own 30-yard-line, it went all the way inside the 1 in 11 plays. Byrd threw a ball for tight end Chris Watts to make a leaping catch of 22 yards, then he made the right call to run for a first down (on 3rd-and-3) to the Seminole 24.
With Harris’ first three rushes, he had 17 yards to the 3. The drive actually stalled inside the 1 on 4th-and-goal. But it was a good spot for the defense, as in one play Broughton led a gang-tackling effort in the end zone. The safety meant a 2-0 lead at 5:55 of the first period.
The Warhawks also received a free kickoff returned by Darian Cooper 19 yards to Westside’s 42. Byrd found lots of room off right tackle for 11 yards to the 25. The home team also received numerous penalties in its favor, like pass interference on 3rd-and-12 for a spot on the 13.
This drive ended with a Yaclin field goal of 22 yards, 5-0 the score at 1:52.
Despite all that work, would Westside pull off the one big play that’s plagued the Warhawks in their young history and shift momentum? Against great coverage, Seminole Jacori Mann hauled in a fly pattern catch of 39 yards to the Veterans 30.
Two plays later, Broughton found a screen pass in his mid-section, the first interception of the night giving his team the ball back on the 32 (3.4 seconds still to go in the first). In eight plays, the Warhawks were in the end zone. It took another third-down conversion, Nick Anderson’s 11-yard catch while needing nine on the Seminole 22; a great ball fake from Byrd earned 10 yards to the 7.
Harris crossed the goal line at 9:17 of the second period. However, it was only an 11-0 game when one official called Yaclin’s PAT kick no good.
Westside’s response was an 85-yard scoring drive in seven plays. Mann made a catch of 19 yards to the VH 35, and from there Walker used an outside block down the home sideline to get to the end zone at 7:20.
Veterans, at 4:16, found itself punting for the first time, but Yaclin placed the ball on the 17. Rashaad Bolton nearly had a pick, and Sam Dumas had a stop on Walker at the line for fourth down.
With 2:35 left, Westside punted to the VH 28. Anderson slipped by tackles for a 12-yard reception on the 48. That was on third down, so was Byrd’s seven yard run to the WHS 37. Thomas pulled off the biggest run of the half, 34 yards for 1st-and-goal.
Time was running out, so with six seconds showing Yaclin went out for a field goal of 21 yards. Westside not only blocked the kick, but picked up the football and raced its way the opposite way to the halftime lead of 14-11.
The Warhawks not only needed the break to regain composure, but also a few breaks in this second-half opening drive. Right away it was 3rd-and-15 on their 30, and Cooper rolled on the ground after an 18-yard catch on the 48. Veterans also got to replay a third down on the WH 44 and converted on the 42.
Faced with 3rd-and-4 on the 23, Thomas broke tackles at the line and spun his way to the 12. Two plays later, still on the 12, Thomas slipped by two tacklers going right and scored at 5:17. Yaclin got this PAT in for 18-14.
Cornerback D.J. Rozier had a big second half. He stopped Mann after a catch on the Warhawk 48, and from there it was 4th-and-8. Walker got away from a heavy rush, but was spotted a nose short of a first down.
Thomas and Byrd ran the ball up to the WH 31. The Seminole defense toughened, but Yaclin scored the big three points on the field goal with 1:39 on the clock.
From there, the home defense turned back challenge after challenge despite some size mismatches. Isaiah Gray, for one, had a key stop when a much bigger receiver was juggling a catch. Westside still managed to drive to the VH 30, but it went away from the mismatch, and Rozier intercepted a ball with 15 seconds to go in the third.
In the fourth period, Yaclin punted the Seminoles to their 13. With an open catch of 45 yards, they were just four yards away from closing the gap.
Broughton, though, got to Walker on the 6. Bolton covered the second-down pass, and Marquise Franklin and Dumas sacked Walker on the 19. The Seminoles dropped the fourth down pass at 7:37.
Veterans could not score again, but did melt off 3:30 of time before punting. A two-minute drive from Westside had another big coverage play by Rozier and Bolton’s interception on the VH 36 at 2:08.
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