VINCENT - Warren is hoping to skip the dramatics when it hosts the Chillicothe Cavaliers in a Southeastern Ohio Athletic League football game at 7:30 p.m. this Friday.
The Warriors' previous two games both went into double overtime with the royal blue and white defeating Logan 40-34 last Friday night and losing to Parkersburg South 10-7 on Sept. 30. Both of those contests were played on the road.
Now, Warren (4-3 overall, 2-1 SEOAL) is back home in Vincent, and Friday is shaping up to be a very special evening.
"This is our homecoming game, and there will be a lot of excitement this week," said second-year Warren head football coach Andy Schob. "We need to feed of that excitement and come ready to play. "Hopefully no more double overtime games - two in row is enough."
Warren's triumph over Logan (1-6, 1-2) was especially sweet, though, as the Warriors snapped a 13-game losing streak to the Chieftains. The royal blue and white had not won since taking three in a row from the purple and white back in 1995, 1996 and 1997.
"It was a great game and win for our team and program," Schob said. "We had not beaten Logan in 13 years. Our kids answered every time they were challenged, all the way to the end of the second overtime."
Leading the Warriors to victory was 5-foot-9, 155-pound senior quarterback Jeremy Hastie, who rushed for 153 yards on 28 carries and two touchdowns. He also completed six of eight passes for 73 yards and one TD of 16 yards to 6-3, 210-pound senior Jeremy Fivecoait.
Hastie, an all-around football player, was filling in for 6-2, 210-pound junior Dylan Leffingwell, who had sprained a knee in the South game.
"Jeremy Hastie stepped into a tough situation at quarterback with only four days of experience, and provided a great performance," Schob said. "In a game where we had to run the ball to be successful, we were able to run behind some good blocking. When we had to throw, Jeremy Fivecoait went up and made plays to keep Logan honest."
Fivecoait finished with six receptions for 82 yards.
Running back Josh Mays, a 5-8, 185-pound senior, added three shot TD runs for the winners, including the game-winner, an eight-yard dash, in the second extra session.
Leffingwell is expected to be back as signal caller in the homecoming game.
"Dylan is hopefully on track to return this week," Schob said. "He is one of the better quarterbacks in the area.
"What Jeremy Hastie provided in the Logan game will only add to our offensive plans, and we will find more ways to get him the ball. We proved we can run the ball last Friday, now with Leffingwell back, teams will have to stop both the run and pass."
While Warren was winning at Logan Chieftain Stadium, Ron Hinton-coached Chillicothe (1-6, 0-3) was dropping a 19-7 decision to the visiting Gallia Academy Blue Devils.
CHS fell behind 7-0 early in the game but came back to knot the score late in the opening period on quarterback Ryan Mathis' 37-yard touchdown pass to Zach Johnson.
After that, Chillicothe struggled offensively, and finished the contest with only 26 plays, which included minus-22 yards on the ground. The Cavalier defense meanwhile gave up 263 rushing yards to Gallia as the Blue Devils dominated the line of scrimmage.
Mathis finished seven-for-11 for 129 yards, and Johnson had four catches for 83 yards.
Chillicothe's only triumph this season was a 54-11 rout of Hillsboro on Sept. 30.
"Chillicothe is similar to Logan in that they have played a tough schedule," Schob said. "But they can be a good football team with good athletes. Coach Ron Hinton is one of the best and most respected coaches in the state."
