Fort Frye dominates Warren at home
By: Rylee Drees
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BEVERLY, Ohio (WOUB) – The Warren Warriors traveled to Beverly on a cool October night for a conference matchup to decide who would hold onto first place. With Tanner Pepper leading Warren’s offense and the difficult Fort Frye Cadets’ defense, the game was set to be an exciting matchup. Fort Frye would come away with the home win, 46-8.
Fort Frye won the coin toss and deferred, kicking to Warren to start the game. On the first drive, a pass intended for Warren’s Tanner Pepper was picked off by Sam Brifcker. The Cadets used that momentum to push quickly downfield, and Grady Hessen put up the first points of the night for Fort Frye with nine minutes left in the first quarter.
With the ball back in Warren’s hands, it looked like it was ready to answer. However, on the second play of the drive, they fumbled the ball, and the Cadets were there to recover it. Fort Frye made sure to take advantage of this opportunity. A completion to Gavin Rauch secured a first down for the Cadets, and on the next play, Rauch had a rushing touchdown. The Cadets went for a 2-point conversion and were successful. The score with six minutes left in the first quarter was 15-0.
With the ball in their possession, Warren was able to make an advance downfield. A completion to Jude Daly led to a long run downfield before he was tackled at the 38-yard line. It then took a few tries, but the Warriors reached the first down marker once again when Tanner Pepper got his hands on the ball. The Cadet’s defense was making stop after stop until it was fourth down, but Jude Daly had another big reception for a first down right before the end of the first quarter.
To start the second, Fort Frye was able to stop Warren just short of the end zone. However, the Warriors’ defense came out hot and put a quick stop to the Cadets’ attempt downfield. On the offensive side of the ball, they were ready to get started, but a pick-6 by Clayton Tullius put a quick stop to Warren’s momentum.
After a quick Warren possession, the ball was back in the Cadets’ control. After a quick drive downfield, a completion to Ethan Wagner put the Cadets up even more, with the score being 30-0. To end the half, Warren had a long drive downfield with two fourth-down conversions. A completion to Tanner Pepper put Warren on the board to end the half. That Tanner Pepper touchdown allowed him to break the Warren High School all-time receiving touchdown record.
After the half, Fort Frye kept up their dominant play and finished the game with a score of 46-8. Fort Frye secured the top spot in the conference, and they will look to keep it next week when they face Point Pleasant at home for senior night. On the other hand, Warren will face Marietta on the road. They will look for a win to try and take the second spot in the conference.