Former Warren Warrior two-time All-Ohio basketball player Evan French remembers his very first impression of Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow when the two faced off with their respective teams in the Division II Regional semi-final at the Convocation Center on the campus of Ohio University back in February of 2013.

French had heard all about Burrow’s prowess on the football field but his abilities on the basketball court had been somewhat under estimated.

“I could tell right away that he was a real-time hooper and that he was a complete player,” said French of Burrow who was in his sophomore season at Athens High School. “He was a big guy but he could hit the three or take you to the rim. We knew right away that he was going to be a guy we had to focus on.”

For three quarters that night Burrow and his Bulldogs had their way with the Warriors as they carried a 13-point lead into the final quarter.

Burrow lived up to the hype that evening by canning six 3-pointers and finishing the game with 28 points but it turned out to be French who stole the show.

After getting into foul trouble early in the game French entered the final quarter with just two points and three fouls.

The two-time Southeast District player of the year erupted for 27 points in the fourth quarter and overtime alone as he led the Warriors to a thrilling 74-69 win that advanced them to the Elite Eight in the state.

Two days later back at the Convo against New Philadephia, Evan Yabs grabbed a rebound off of a Dylan Leffingwell missed shot and put it back in as the buzzer sounded to send the Warriors to the Final Four for the very first time in school history.

In my 11 years of writing I still haven’t experienced a better individual performance than French’s that night when he was seemingly hitting shots from everywhere on the court with the Convo P.A. announcer Lou Harvath claiming some of the 3-pointers he made were from the Belpre bridge.

“It was such a fun game and such a rush to come all the way back and win that game,” recalled French. “It’s one of those moments that you can’t really appreciate until you look back and realize what a special game it was.”

That was the first of what would be several battles between the two with the Warriors getting the edge every single time on the hardwood.

“That game really sparked a rivalry between the two schools,”said French. “We knew every single time we played them it was going to be a very competitive, hard fought game because they had such a solid team and Joe (Burrow) was the guy you couldn’t let beat you.”

Watching a player that he had such great battles with in high school become the national success Burrow has seems a bit surreal to French.

“You don’t see a lot of kids from Southeastern Ohio win a Heisman Trophy or make it all the way to the Super Bowl like Joe has so that gives so much hope for the younger generations,” said French, who out-pointed Burrow 37-12 in their next match up, an 83-61 Warrior win in February of 2014. “It’s great to see him accomplish what he has already and the things he has done off the court for the community are incredible. He is definitely doing it the right way.”

French’s high school coach Blane Maddox is quick to point out that the Warriors were a perfect 5-0 against Athens while Burrow was there while also eliminating them twice from post season play.

“I’m very proud of the fact that they were never able to get a win against us those few years,” said Maddox. “I’m also very proud of Joe Burrow and what he has meant for this area and what he stands for and as a Bengal fan I’m hoping he can get that win on Sunday.”

Burrow found much better success in hoops against Marietta as Athens won five of six games from the Tigers while eliminating them from the postseason twice.

While his results on the hardwood are slightly mixed against our local teams, Burrow’s results on the football field were far more predictable for a kid who has won a Heisman Trophy, a national championship and a conference championship in the last three years.

Though Burrow never played a football game against the Marietta Tigers in his prep career, he led the Bulldogs to three consecutive wins over the Warriors.

Former Warrior head coach Andy Schob coached the Warriors in the first two meetings, a 66-14 loss at Athens in 2012 and a 42-6 defeat at home in 2013.

“He was a great high school football player but sometimes it’s really hard to compare just how good they are at that point,” said Schob, who got a first-hand scouting report on Burrow from his son Jason, whom he sent the year before to coach the Warrior junior varsity team and got destroyed by Athens.

“It’s hard to tell how good they are going to be in college and beyond but obviously he has had everything it takes to have as much success as possible.”

Those 42 points allowed by the Warriors to Athens were the second lowest total the Bulldogs scored with Burrow under center, and Warrior defensive back Jake Powell can always say he intercepted a pass against a Super Bowl quarterback.

While most of Southeastern Ohio will be glued to the television Sunday evening hoping Burrow brings the state of Ohio our very first Super Bowl victory, Schob put in perspective what he has already accomplished at the age of 25.

“It’s awesome to see him have such success at every level and he has kind of changed the narrative for all of Southeast Ohio,” said Schob. “He is the poster child for what can be accomplished no matter where you come from.”