×

Warren looks to bounce back vs. Williamstown

Photo by Jay W. Bennett Warren’s Jacob Sealey is congratulated by teammates Nick Cressey (11), Aden Strahler (24) and Carson Gandee (52) followiing an interception against Belpre at Ralph Holder Stadium.

PARKERSBURG — Despite what the schedule says, there will be no football game Friday night in Williamstown.

The Yellowjackets originally scheduled to play host to Warren at 7 p.m. Friday, but the game has been moved to 4 p.m. Saturday at Stadium Field. Williamstown’s home field is not quite ready to be played on after undergoing renovations in the offseason.

Williamstown is coming off a season-opening win against Waterford, 46-22, while Warren dropped a 28-24 heart-breaker to Morgan.

“I thought we played hard,” said Williamstown head coach Chris Beck. “We controlled the line of scrimmage. We have a lot to clean up, but the effort was there and that’s a good starting point.”

Williamstown showed off a balanced offensive attack against Waterford. Rickie Allen rushed 20 times for 79 yards while Maxwell Molessa added 77 yards on 11 carries. Molessa also completed 10 of 12 pass attempts for 134 yards, with his top target Louis Goodnow catching six balls for 89 yards.

“They’re a very good team,” said Warren head coach Jimmy Peyton. “They have a very talented quarterback. They have a lot of tradition. They’re very disciplined and they’re going to play good and play hard.”

Warren has some nice offensive weapons of its own. Jason Williams made his 2022 debut against Morgan, rushing 12 times for 141 yards. Williamstown appeared to have some holes in its run defense last week as Waterford ran 27 times for 224 yards.

Quarterback Trent Taylor went 15 for 28 passing for 162 yards. Freshman wideout Tanner Pepper had a breakout game, notching seven receptions for 138 yards.

“They’re good,” Beck said. “They’re a good football team. They have a lot of weapons. They’re explosive. Their defense is physical and aggressive. We’re going to have our hands full Saturday. It’s going to be a good one.”

Pepper’s emergence in the Warren offense is no surprise to Peyton.

“Pepper’s one of those kids that, as coach you know you’re only going to have the opportunity to coach a handful of kids like him,” Peyton said. “He’s going to be a four-year difference-maker. He’s an extremely hard worker and very knowledgeable of the game for a young kid. It’s only his second year of football. He’s got tremendous upside.”

Another Warrior to keep an eye on is sophomore Aden Strahler, who leads WHS in tackles through the first two games.

Even though Warren didn’t come away with a win last week, Peyton saw a lot of things he liked.

“We fought hard,” he said. “Obviously we made a couple mistakes. That’s what you get when you’re starting six sophomores and a freshman. No excuses, but we’re young and there’s going to be growing pains. There’s not a lack of effort, attitude and discipline. The guys are learning their roles and figuring things out.”

Last season, the two teams met in Vincent with the Yellowjackets claiming a 34-6 victory. Williamstown is opening the 2022 season with games against Waterford and Warren to start and also plays Fort Frye and Marietta later in the year.

“The schedule is what it is,” Beck said. “We schedule kind of out of necessity. It’s nice to play local teams. You get big crowds, and they’ve been competitive games.”

As for the game being moved to Saturday, that’s something Beck’s squad is used to.

“It’s kind of like a playoff week in that regard,” he said, while pointing out the keys to victory Saturday will be “controlling the line of scrimmage, winning the turnover battle and limiting them on offense. They’re very dangerous. Williams, he’s a player. The quarterback can really throw and they’ve got good wide receivers who can make plays on the outside. Put that all together, that’s an offense that can hurt you in a lot of different ways.”

Peyton believes his talented offense has a big challenge ahead of it in Williamstown’s defense.

“They play very good defense,” he said. “You know for a fact they’re going to be extremely aggressive and fly around the football.

“The main thing we have to do is be able to take care of the football and play turnover-free. We’ve got to block and tackle like I know we can. Those are the keys. We’ve got to be structured and disciplined in our approach.”

Jordan Holland can be reached at jholland@mariettatimes.com.

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *

Starting at $4.15/week.

Subscribe Today