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‘Unbelievable week’: Warren gets bounceback win over Morgan

By Jordan Holland 7 min read

VINCENT -- As unkind as week one was to the Warren Warriors, the days leading up to week two weren't much better.

After a 34-0 loss to Union Local in last week's season opener, Warren had to battle through just about every type of adversity you could think of going into a week two matchup with Morgan.

"This week was unbelievable," said Warren head coach Jason Gandee. "We've had some health issues, some stomach, strep, and then we had a skin, like an impetigo type thing go through our team, and that's a 72-hour wait. We didn't practice as a team until (Thursday) and didn't get everybody back until (Friday) and we have kids in the concussion protocol. So, it was a rough week."

Through it all, the Warriors stayed focused, took it on the chin and came out Friday and delivered a 28-21 victory in front of their home crowd -- a satisfying puncuation on a week to forget.

"I am so proud of these kids for how resilient they were," Gandee said. "We talked all week about standing up when you get knocked down -- and we got knocked down all week. It was rough. I told them, 'I couldn't be prouder.'"

When the Warriors gave a 42-yard touchdown run to Tanner Bankes on the fourth play from scrimmage, then opened their first possession with a delay of game, it seemed like another long night may be in store.

Braylen Murray had other thoughts, catching two passes for eight yards before taking a carry nine yards for a first down to allow his team to get settled in. Murray capped the drive with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Chandler Lewis to tie the game at 7-all.

Murray proved to be a thorn in the Raiders' side all night long. He ran for 113 yards 23 carries and accounted for all four Warren touchdowns.

"Just keep the feet moving," Murray said with a smile.

Gandee added, "I wouldn't trade Braylen for anybody. Ask any coach, Braylen is everything you want -- talent, demeanor, attitude, work ethic, all of it."

Murray's 1-yard touchdown run in the second quarter put the Warriors up 14-13, a lead they took into halftime. His 11-yard scoring jaunt in the third period stretched the advantage to 21-13.

"Everybody had a chip on their shoulder coming into this game, especially with how week one went," Murray said. "Everybody just wanted to win, and it obviously showed."

With 8:23 left in the fourth quarter, Murray dropped back to pass. With nobody open initially, the junior QB bought some time for his receivers by scrambling to his left. He eventually found Jude Daly sprinting wide open down the middle of the field, and hit him in stride for a 38-yard touchdown. That broke a 21-21 tie and put the Warriors up for good.

"I just kept my eyes downfield," Murray said of the go-ahead TD. "I seen Jude back there. He put his hand up, so I threw it to him. That's it."

The Raiders drove the ball to midfield on their ensuing possession before turning it over on downs. Warren got the ball at Morgan's 49-yard line with 6:36 left in the game and went to work.

Murray, Weston Sealey and Conner Moore combined to form a Warren rushing attack that chewed more than six minutes off the clock. The Warriors picked up three first downs, and though they didn't score on the drive, they forced Morgan to burn all three timeouts.

"When you can run the ball, you can do that," Gandee said. "We made them use their timeouts, which hurt them at the end because then you're limited with what you can do. That was the big difference in the game -- us controlling the line of scrimmage and running the ball effectively."

The Raiders got the ball at their own 24 with 34 seconds left and had to operate with a sense of urgency. Quarterback Gage Roberts completed passes of 9, 7 and 10 yards to get the ball to midfield. His final completion was a 9-yarder to Casen Foley, but Foley was brought down in bounds as the final seconds ticked off the clock.

"It's been a tough week as a head coach, but these kids just keep coming and showing up, so I'm really proud of them," Gandee said.

Bankes, who finished with two carries for 66 yards, suffered an injury in the first quarter and did not return.

"I hate it for (Morgan)," Gandee said. "There's players for other teams you really respect and admire and (Bankes) is at the top of my list. He plays the game the way the game should be played. I hate what happened to him."

Morgan took a 13-7 lead in the second when Foley high-pointed a 15-yard pass from Roberts over two Warren defenders. Foley finished with 76 yards on six catches while Roberts was 8 for 17 for 90 yards. He was picked off twice -- one apiece by Murray and Sealey.

"Our coaches had us ready," Murray said. "We had checks for every formation, and that put us in the position to be able to do what we did."

Trailing 21-13 at the end of three, Mason Pauley rushed for a 15-yard touchdown on the first play of the fourth. Roberts' two-point pass to Foley knotted it up. Pauley did an admirable job stepping up in Bankes' absence, rushing for a game-high 129 yards on 17 attempts.

To complement Murray's big game, Moore posted a breakout performance with 93 yards on 19 carries. The Warriors ran it 51 times for 245 yards as a team. Neither team punted.

"We've been working with Conner," Gandee said. "His first year was last year, and he struggled a little bit. We moved positions with him, and he's really embraced it. Conner has turned a page. He's really become a team guy. He's engaged. He knows what he's doing."

With a trip to Logan slated for week three, the Warriors are hoping the Saturday-through-Thursday stretch goes a little bit smoother this time around.

"The guys just pushed through it," Murray said. "We've been talking about it all week, like, it doesn't matter what's going on now, just Friday. Worry about the game, worry about the game. We came (Thursday), had a full practice, came (Friday) before the game and had our walkthrough. Everybody just persevered through it and we were good."

Contact Jordan Holland at jholland@mariettatimes.com.

Warren 28, Morgan 21

M (1-1) 7 6 0 8 -- 21

W (1-1) 7 7 7 7 -- 28

M: Tanner Bankes 42 run, Capote Springer kick, 10:54 1st

W: Chandler Lewis 14 pass from Braylen Murray, Jaxon Venham kick, 3:43 1st

M: Casen Foley 15 pass form Gage Roberts, kick failed, 8:03 3rd

W: Murray 1 run, Venham kick, 5:27 2nd

W: Murray 11 run, Venham kick, 5:21 3rd

M: Mason Pauley 15 run, Foley pass from Roberts, 11:52 4th

W: Jude Daly 38 pass from Murray, Venham kick, 8:23 4th

Team stats

Morgan: First downs: 12; Rushes-yards: 24-207; Passing yards: 90; Total yards: 297; Passing: 8-17-2; Fumbles-lost: 2-1; Penalties-yards: 7-50; Punts-average: 0-0

Warren: First downs: 16; Rushes-yards: 51-245; Passing yards: 70; Total yards: 315; Passing: 5-10-0; Fumbles-lost: 1-1; Penalties-yards: 9-76; Punts-average: 0-0

Individual stats

Morgan: Rushing: Mason Pauley 17-129, TD; Tanner Bankes 2-66, TD; Gage Roberts 3-8; Charles Hockman 1-4; Casen Foley 1-0; Passing: Roberts 8-17-2, 90 yards, TD; Receiving: Foley 6-76; Wyatte Cooper 1-12; Conner Clouse 1-9

Warren: Rushing: Braylen Murray 23-113, 2 TDs; Conner Moore 19-93; Weston Sealey 6-29; Bentley Ison 3-10; Passing: Murray 3-7-0, 62 yards, 2 TDs; Brennen Bowen 2-3-0, 8 yards; Receiving: Jude Daly 1-38, TD; Chandler Lewis 1-14, TD; Sealey 1-10; Murray 2-8

Next games: Warren at Logan; Philo at Morgan

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