Morgan’s Casen Foley (8) and Warren’s Davin Dickel (5) go up for a pass during Friday’s game in McConnelsville. (Photo by Mike Morrison)

MCCONNELSVILLE – It’s not very often that a team commits five turnovers in a football game and still manages to come away with a victory.

The Morgan Raiders proved it was possible Friday night as they gave the ball away five times yet still came away with a convincing 28-13 win over the Warren Warriors in their home opener at Raider Stadium.

Morgan forced the Warriors into four turnovers of their own and got a huge first half from junior running back Tanner Bankes as they downed a Washington County school for the second straight week and extended their winning streak to four games dating back to last season.

“I told our seniors before the game that they would never have the opportunity for week two again,” said Morgan second-year head coach Seth Brown. “They will have this week-two win for the rest of their lives and 2-0 is a great start for them.”

It wouldn’t take Bankes long at all to make his presence felt as he accounted for all 84 yards on a five-play Raider drive that culminated with his seven-yard touchdown run.

Warren’s Tanner Pepper (1) carries the ball during Friday’s game against Morgan in McConnelsville. (Photo by Mike Morrison)

Jude Garber’s extra-point kick was good and the Raiders had a 7-0 lead with less than two minutes of time ran off the clock.

After the two teams traded scoreless possessions, the Raiders struck again later in the opening quarter and once again it was Bankes leading the charge.

His 11-yard run moved the ball inside Warrior territory and after a 16-yard pass from quarterback Haiden Pauley to Gage Roberts, Bankes broke free once again for a 30-yard touchdown run to give the Raiders a 14-0 lead.

“I thought our offensive line was extremely good tonight,” said Brown. “Tanner (Bankes) is really tough to tackle and the way he ran the ball tonight he was pretty much able to control the game.”

Warren was forced to punt once again on their next possession and the Raiders answered by marching 44 yards on just five plays with Bankes scoring on a 19-yard score for his third touchdown of the half to extend the lead to three scores.

Morgan’s McGwire Winner (17) carries the ball during Friday’s game against Warren in McConnelsville. (Photo by Mike Morrison)

After the Warriors found out early this week that sophomore starting quarterback Braylen Murray would be unavailable to play due to a collar-bone injury he suffered in their season opening loss at Circleville, senior Tanner Pepper got the nod behind center.

Pepper was intercepted by the Raiders’ McGwire Winner deep in their own territory giving Morgan a chance to add to their already three-touchdown lead.

The Warrior defense responded in a big way as senior defensive back Davin Dickel intercepted Pauley on the very next play and then out-ran everybody down the sidelines for a 94-yard touchdown that got the Warriors back in the game.

After Morgan moved the ball back inside the red zone again the Warrior defense came up with another huge play when Pepper picked Pauley off in the end zone to give the Warriors the ball back with more than a minute on the clock.

Pepper connected with Dickel on a 35-yard pass play that moved the ball into Morgan territory and the Warriors moved the ball all the way to the 17-yard line before the Raiders defense came up with a big play of their own.

Warren’s Eric Carr (2) collides with Morgan’s Landen Shook (59) on a carry during Friday’s game in McConnelsville. (Photo by Mike Morrison)

Pepper’s pass into the end zone intended for Dickel was wrestled away and intercepted by junior Casen Foley to keep the Warriors from scoring with just seconds remaining on the clock.

First-year Warrior head coach Jason Gandee thought Pepper made the right read but came up a bit short.

“We had some chances we felt like for some big plays and just didn’t convert them,” said Gandee. “We liked what we saw there, we just weren’t able to convert it and credit to them for making the play.”

The Warriors got the ball to begin the second half and once again moved into Raider territory but once again their drive ended when Pauley picked off Pepper’s pass and returned the ball to the Warrior 45-yard line.

Four consecutive carries by Bankes moved the ball into the red zone and two plays later Pauley connected with Roberts on a 6-yard touchdown pass that increased the Raider lead to 28-6.

The Warriors managed to get a late touchdown run from Pepper to make it a two-possession game but that would be as close as they would get as they lost for the second straight week to begin the season.

Bankes left the game due to an injury in the fourth quarter but still managed to rush for 209 yards on 21 carries to go along with the three touchdowns.

Pauley had a bit of a rough game behind center as he completed 7-of-12 pass attempts for 70 yards and a touchdown but also tossed three interceptions.

Brown was pleased with the way his team responded after the mistakes that they made.

“We did turn the ball over more than we wanted to tonight but at the same time we were able to force turnovers,” said Brown. “That was a great job by our defense.”

Pepper ended up throwing four interceptions in his first varsity start at QB but managed to rush for 149 yards on 19 carries in a game where he found out he would be quarterback a day or two before.

“After we found out Bray (Murray) was out we really had to scramble because we didn’t have another kid on our roster with a varsity quarterback start,” said Gandee. “We started repping Pepper Thursday and walked him through today and I think he did a pretty good job in a tough circumstance.”

The Warriors will look to right the ship on Friday when they host Logan who is coached by former Warren head coach Jimmy Peyton, who left after last season.

“Jimmy comes back so that will be fun and it should be a really good atmosphere,” said Gandee. “We’ve just got to regroup and worry about us and get better as a team and let everybody else worry about everybody else.”

Brown couldn’t be more pleased with the start his team is off to with convincing wins over Marietta and Warren, a pair of teams who made the postseason a season ago.

“I’m extremely proud of our kids and it’s two big wins that puts us in a pretty good situation,” said Brown, whose team opens league play next week when they host New Lexington. “If we can protect the ball and eliminate mistakes we have got a really good chance at being a good football team.”