West Branch football took care of rival Salem on Friday night 26-7 for the teams 5th EBC championship in a row and capped off the programs fourth perfect regular season at 10-0.  Next up for the Warriors will be a home playoff game against an opponent to be determined.

The Warriors-Quakers rivalry tends to be closely contested and this game was no different, at least for the first half.  After neither team found the endzone in the first quarter the Warriors were the first to score at the 6:11 mark when quarterback Jeremiah Thomas found receiver Anthony Perry for an eight yard touchdown pass.  The PAT was no good and the Warriors led 6-0.  The score was set up by a 39 yard pass from Thomas to Gavin Gregory to put the Warriors inside the Salem 10.

After the ensuing kickoff went out of bounds, Salem marched 65 yards and chewed up nearly six minutes of clock scoring on a 15 yard rush, giving the Quakers a 7-6 lead with just :37 seconds to play in the half.  The one point disadvantage was the first time the Warriors have trailed this season.

West Branch got the ball coming out of the half and took the game over.  Behind the running of Boston Mulinix, who set the Warrior all time career rushing mark in the first quarter (3,885 yards breaking Brenden Wells record of 3,747), and a powerful offensive line, West Branch asserted its will controlling the line of scrimmage driving the ball down the field.  The Warriors took the lead with 8:31 to play in the third when Thomas took it in from three yards.  With the PAT, the Warriors took a 13-7 advantage.  

In the second half, the Warriors defense allowed just 32 yards as the team suffocated the Quaker rushing attack.  Forcing a Salem punt, West Branch again used the ground game, balancing Mulinix and Thomas runs to methodically march the ball down the field to extend its lead.  With 9:39 to play in the game, Thomas scored on a 14 yard rush to give West Branch a commanding 20-7 lead.

The defense then forced a three and out and West Branch put the game away as Mulinix scored from two yards giving the Warriors a 26-7 lead.

Mulinix finished the day with 167 yards on the ground on 25 carries.  He also became the first player in school history to rush for over 1,000 yards in three seasons.  Thomas was effective through the air and on the ground finishing with 94 yards rushing on 13 attempts and throwing for 121 and a score.

Perry caught four balls for 28 yards while Joey Jackson finished the day with three catches for 25 yards.

Leading the defense was Clayton Day with 11 tackles.  Lukas Black, Cameron Summers, and Cohen Campbell each finished with six tackles.  Carson Graham intercepted a late Salem pass for his fifth interception of the season.

The Warriors look to be the fourth seed in the upcoming OHSAA playoffs and will wait the results of Saturday games to learn who its opponent will be.  More information about the game along with ticket and live stream information will be made available this week.