Bears thrash Warhawks in regular season finale

WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — Friday night at Freedom Field, the Houston County Bears and the Veteran Warhawks squared off in their final regular season game of the year.

The Warhawks (3-7, 0-5 Region 1-6A) looked to end their season on a winning note, but the playoff-bound Bears (8-2, 3-2 Region 1-6A) dominated the night in a 42-0 win.

The scoring came quick for the Bears after the defense forced a three-and-out, as they drove 65 yards from their own 35-yard line for Antwann Hill to run in the first touchdown and take a 7-0 lead.

On the Warhawks’ next possession they couldn’t gain any positive yardage from their own 20-yard line, and were forced to punt on fourth-and-15 from their own 15-yard line.

The Bears had a good punt return but were brought back to midfield after a block in the back penalty.

That proved to be costly, as the Warhawks’ defense stonewalled any efforts to get in scoring position, and the Bears were forced to punt in enemy territory.

Pinned deep in their own territory on the 14-yard line, the Warhawks couldn’t manage to get a first down and were forced to punt after four plays.

The first quarter ended without another score as both defenses stood pat.

The Bears made the most out of their opening possession in the second, as Hill connected with Ricky Johnson on a 48-yard touchdown pass. With the point after, the Bears led 14-0.

Preston Bird broke a long run to put the Warhawks on the 46-yard line, and they managed to move the ball to the Bears’ 37-yard line before the drive stalled.

The punt pinned the Bears on their 13-yard line, but it didn’t matter.

The Bears drove to the Warhawks’ 32-yard line and Hill completed a touchdown pass to Ty Waters with a minute left in the first half extending their lead to 21-0 before going into the locker room.

The Bears received the ball to open the second half, but Samuel Mitchell’s interception for the Warhawks put them in prime position to cut into the lead.

The offense did manage to move the ball up to the 30-yard line, but another drive stalled and the Warhawks punted.

The Bears learned from their mistakes on the next drive, and despite a penalty pulling them back to the Warhawks’ 40-yard line, Amir Thomas took it to the end zone on the next play for another Bears’ score.

The Bears continued to control the game and kept the Warhawks out of the end zone. They scored once more at the end of the third quarter and got their sixth touchdown in the fourth to take home the 42-0 win.

UP NEXT

The Bears, despite a stellar 8-2 regular season record, placed third in the region behind Lee County (8-2, 4-1 Region 1-6A) and Thomas County Central (10-0, 5-0 Region 1-6A), so they’ll travel this week to take on the North Atlanta Warriors (9-1, 4-1 Region 4-6A).

The Warriors, though they have a 9-1 record, only have two wins against teams above .500: A 30-22 win over Wheeler (7-3) and 42-7 win over Dunwoody (8-2) in their regular season finale.

The game is scheduled to kick off on Friday, Nov. 10 at 7:30 p.m.

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