The 4th seeded Warrior football team used a strong first half attack and an aggressive defense to defeat the 13th seeded Hubbard Eagles 31-6 in the opening round of the OHSAA Playoffs on Friday night. With the win the Warriors improve to 11-0 while the Eagles fall to 5-6. Next up for the Warriors will be 5th seeded Cleveland Glenville. The Tarblooders and Warriors will face off next Friday at 7 PM at Clinton Heacock Stadium.
West Branch got off to a quick start on Friday night scoring on just the third play of the game.
Boston Mulinix took the handoff and raced 43 yards for the score just one minute into the game. Hubbard put together one of its best drives of the night on its opening series as they reverted back to Hubbard of old lining up with a tight end and I backs trying to pound the ball. The Eagles managed a few first downs but the Warriors held strong at the 30 and forced a long field goal attempt that was missed.
The first quarter ended with West Branch holding the 7-0 lead. After the teams each punted twice, the Warriors extended its lead, driving the ball down the field resulting in another Mulinix touchdown and a 14-0 lead. The Warrior defense continued to suffocate the rushing attack of the Eagles getting the ball back to the offense.
Grady Hirst, who entered in the second quarter due to an injury to
Jeremiah Thomas, threw a seven yard touchdown to
Joey Jackson extending the West Branch lead to 21-0 with 4:28 to play in the half. On Hubbard's next possession, the Eagles managed two first downs, but a
Grady Close interception ended its threat. With less than a minute to play in the half, West Branch drove to the Eagle 19 with just :05 second to play in the half.
Anthony Perry lined up for a 36 yard field goal drilling it through the uprights giving West Branch a commanding 24-0 lead.
In the second half, Hubbard was able to capitalize off a West Branch turnover and three defensive penalties, scoring with 5:55 to play in the third to cut the lead to 24-6. West Branch answered, however, thanks in large part to the legs of
Grady Hirst and Mulinix. Mulinix would cap off the long drive with a one yard touchdown run with :38 second to play in the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter the West Branch defense held strong not allowing any sustained drives by the Eagles and the Warrior offense was able to run the clock out for the victory.
Munlinix finished the day with 201 yards on 25 carries and the three touchdowns. Mulinix eclipsed the 4,000 yard mark for his career with his big game. Hirst was 8-21 passing for 83 yards while running for 68 yards on just seven carries.
Jackson led all receivers with five receptions for 56 yards. Perry finished with three catches for 35 yards while
Gavin Gregory hauled in two balls for 23 yards.
Defensively, the Warriors held the Hubbard rushing attack to 32 yards on 27 carries. Linebackers
Jack Flickinger and
Garin Harlan led the way. Flickinger finished with 11 tackles and a fumble recovery while Harlan had eight tackles and two sacks.
Zach Coffee and
Cohen Campbell also made life hard on the Hubbard quarterback finishing with two sacks apiece.
In addition to the interception by Close,
Lukas Black picked off a fourth quarter Eagle pass to help seal the victory.
