VINCENT - Two games left, and Warren would naturally like to cap its football season on a high note with a win streak.
At 7:30 p.m. Friday, the Andy Schob-coached Warriors are scheduled to play at Portsmouth High in a Southeastern Ohio Athletic League game. The following week, the royal blue and white gridders will finish up against visiting Logan in another SEOAL tilt in Vincent.
Warren owns a 2-6 overall record (0-3 SEOAL) while Curt Clifford-coached Portsmouth is 1-7 overall and also winless in the league with a 0-3 mark.
Article Photos
KAREN HENTHORN Special to The Times
Warren’s Tanner Huck (15) collects a kickoff and gets ready to run as Warrior teammate Tyler Welch (59) comes over to block during prep football action against Gallia Academy last Friday night.
"This game and every game is much more than records, or wins and losses," Schob said. "Football is like life filled with adversity and how you and others around you respond to adversity. Our team has done a great job responding and staying excited about the opportunity to play each week."
The Warriors have lost three in a row since defeating Meigs 57-12 on Sept. 21, and the Trojans have dropped six straight since beating Portsmouth West 21-18 on Aug. 31.
Warren is coming off a 52-21 homecoming setback to Gallia Academy last Friday night. The Warriors, who never led in the contest, trailed 35-14 at halftime.
Jake Scott scored two touchdowns for Warren, one on a four-yard run and the other on a three-yard pass from quarterback Dylan Leffingwell.
Austin Kuhn was the royal blue and white's leading ground gainer, rushing for 148 yards on 18 carries and one TD scamper of nine yards in the fourth quarter.
Leffingwell completed 17-of-30 passes for 161 yards and had two throws intercepted. The senior QB's primary receiving target was Andrew Vincent, who had six receptions for 92 yards.
Warren's defense gave up 430 yards of total offense to the Blue Devils, who are battling for a playoff spot.
"We did a lot of good things during the Gallia game," Schob said. "We moved the ball well on offense most of the game, our defense only gave up one score and a few first downs in the second half, and our kids played hard and were excited to play.
"However, the five turnovers and several missed assignments on defense were too much to overcome, especially when we were playing a team like Gallia."
Meanwhile, on that same evening, host Portsmouth was getting drilled 35-7 by two-time defending SEOAL champion Jackson (5-3, 3-0). The Trojans' lone score came on a Brandon Wedebrook 18-yard scoring strike to Alex Dickerson in the third quarter.
"Portsmouth has struggled some this year, but like most Trojan teams are very athletic and very capable of winning any game they play," Schob said. "They will spread us out and try to put their talented athletes in space. We have struggled in some earlier games with this, but I feel our kids have continued to improve and are looking forward to another opportunity."
