Disappointing end

Warrenton scores 22 unanswered points to end SHS season

sd_sports@yahoo.com

SIKESTON -- Welcomed sunshine pierced through a cold and breezy day at Sikeston Public Schools Stadium on Saturday afternoon about the same time the Sikeston Bulldogs went ahead by eight points just moments before halftime.

For the mammoth home crowd donned in black, that small sign of good things to come became almost assured when Sikeston senior tailback Darryl Howard ran almost the length of the field to give them a 21-6 advantage.

But just as the sun shed some warmth and a quick presumption, overcast skies took control. The visiting Warrenton Warriors then took a cue from the weather and became the cloud in Sikeston's day to shine.

The Bulldog's once two-possession lead slipped away in the last 15 minutes as turnovers proved too costly in their semifinal contest, allowing the Warriors to fight back with 22-unanswered points in the second half.

Warrenton moves on to a Class 4 title game with a 28-21 win, while the Bulldogs ended another magical season with a familiar feeling they would soon like to forget.

"It was a better season than I thought it would be," Sikeston senior Ray Clark said. "But, once we hit week six, I knew we could go all the way. We started getting better and better each week. It's just sad to see it end like this. It's just sad. Two years in-a-row."

Sikeston ended their second-straight season in the semifinal round with a 13-1 record. Warrenton (11-3) heads to the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis to face Webb City in the state championship game on Saturday -- their first appearance in school history.

"Obviously, they have a great team or they wouldn't have been here," Sikeston head coach Kent Gibbs said about the Warriors. "They played really, really hard and executed the things they needed to do on offense and defense.

"They were just better than us today for a lot of reasons but, basically when you look up they're going to the Dome and we're not."

Sikeston's misfortunes began late in the third quarter following Howard's presumed heroics. The senior's 88-yard touchdown, which was a huge chunk of his 150 rushing yards, was Sikeston's first play of the second half that gave the Bulldogs a 15-point lead.

The Warriors seemed untroubled, however.

Just as he did all game, Warrenton's senior quarterback, Scott Lathrop, was the driving force behind his team as he led the Warriors on a nine-play, 61-yard touchdown drive that ended with a 17-yard run by sophomore Austin Black.

Sikeston went into the final quarter with a 21-13 lead.

"It was sometime late in the third when they got one score and you figure 'well, we'll put it together the next possession,'" Sikeston senior Corey Porter said. "But, it just didn't turn out that way. They became pretty unstoppable."

Just over a minute into the fourth quarter, Sikeston committed it's second of three second half turnovers when Warrenton's Nick Todd recovered a fumble by Bulldog quarterback Trey Lewis at Sikeston's own 24-yard line setting up the tying score.

Lathrop, who had been injured and was limping earlier in the quarter, struck again with a near perfect pass four plays later, when he placed a floating 14-yard lob just over the leaping hands of Sikeston's Brandon Blissett and into the awaiting gloves of Black for the touchdown.

Warrenton tied the game at 21-21 with 9:05 left to play after Warrenton sophomore T.J. LaFaver replaced Lathrop for a 2-point conversion pass to Todd.

"He's one of the main reasons why they're here," Gibbs said about Lathrop. "He certainly stepped up and had a great game."

Lathrop wasn't done though. The Warriors were handed another short field during Sikeston's next possession that stalled at their own 45-yard line. A high snap sailed over the reach of Sikeston punter Hunter Williams giving Warrenton just 27-yards of ground to cover.

"The kind of mistakes we made, you can't make those in big games like this or your going to be sitting at home and that's exactly what happened," Gibbs said. "If you don't execute and your playing a good team they're going to take advantage of that."

Five plays and two minutes later, Lathrop found the end zone from nine yards out giving his Warriors a 28-21 lead after the extra point.

"We've played some tough games all year long and we've lost a couple along the way, but again, I think that helped us respond properly," Warrenton head coach Ken Moore said about their turnaround. "Our kids knew what was on the line and they fought and continued to work."

Although the excitement shown by the Bulldogs' home crowd became lifeless once Lathrop dove across the goal line, and even more so when Warrenton's Todd jarred a potential drive-saving catch out of the hands of Sikeston's Kyland Gross during the following possession, the Bulldogs' defense came up with a big fourth down stop soon after with 1:51 left in regulation by stuffing the 6-0, 220 pound Black at the line of scrimmage.

Sikeston was given one more chance to tie the game needing an effective two-minute drill and needing to cover 63 yards to do it.

Lewis, who finished with 129 passing yards and 82 rushing, covered 18 yards in a combined three running plays before an incomplete pass stopped the clock with 50 seconds remaining. Lewis then hit Robert Garces for a first down at Warrenton's 34-yard line, stopping the clock at 43.7 seconds in the process.

Building momentum with those runs and completion to Garces, Sikeston was having success driving the field and was looking furiously for a break-out play that would find the end zone.

Scrambling to his right, Lewis hit Sikeston receiver Janeil Hatchett for a first down and more. Hatchett continued to fight off tacklers for extra yardage until Warrenton's Nick Reese hit Hatchett from behind popping the ball out of the senior's hands. The ball was scooped up by LaFaver, halting the Bulldogs' potential game-tying drive inside the 25-yard line and ending Sikeston's season in the semifinals for the second time in two years.

"It's very disappointing," said Gibbs. "When you get to that step and you got a chance, you have to take advantage of that and do everything you can to make sure you get there.

"Unfortunately, there were times where we didn't do some things that we needed to do."

"I think we hurt ourselves," Porter said. "It came down to poor tackling, poor reading and it all caught up and bit us in the second half. That last turnover, we don't blame that on anyone. It should have never came down to that point in the first place.

"It was one of those things where it's a tough game and you get a little winded and fatigue catches up and bites you."

Starting with Warrenton's first touchdown drive that made it a 14-point Sikeston lead, Lathrop was a perfect 6-for-6 passing for 64 yards and a touchdown pass. He finished 8-of-13 passing for 90 yards and also 109 rushing yards on 25 carries.

Warrenton's Darren Hackman hit field goals of 33 and 31 yards giving the Warriors their six, first half points.

Between Hackman's two successful kicks, Lewis connected with Hatchett for a 14-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter. Clark capped off a 14-play, 98-yard drive with a 13-yard touchdown pass from Lewis with 17 seconds left in the first half giving Sikeston a 14-6 halftime lead.

Stopping Warrenton 10 plays into the second half, Howard's long run gave Sikeston their commanding 21-6 advantage.

Warrenton's comeback began shortly after.

"They played a little bit harder than us," said Clark. "We weren't ready for them to come out and smack us in the mouth. It's just tough."