Flinton- The West Branch Warrior Football Team used a highly balanced attack to defeat the Glendale Vikings, 34-14. The Warriors wasted no time getting things going, as they scored on the opening drive of the ballgame via a four yard rush by running back Derek Yingling. This is not a new trend however, as the Warriors have scored on their opening drive in their last three games. After an answer from the Vikings, the teams each punted on their next possessions.
When the Warriors got the ball back, they immediately got the passing game going. Quarterback Ayden Gutierrez found wideout Josh Cantolina twice in the drive for 61 yards and a touchdown. Gutierrez finished the game going 6-of-16 for 119 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Midway through the 2nd quarter Kyle Godin connected on a 22-yard field goal to put the Warriors ahead 17-7. The biggest defensive series of the night came at the end of the 1st half. With under two minutes to go, the Vikings connected on a long pass play to put them inside the Warriors five yard line. That was when the Warriors made a statement. They came up with a huge goal line stand, as they stopped the Vikings from scoring on four straight plays.
“It was huge, it gave us all of the momentum in the world,” linebacker Aidan Kephart said. “It really set the tone for the rest of the night.”
Set the tone it did, as the Warrior defense went on to dominate the 2nd half on the ground and in the air. The Warriors sacked Glendale quarterback Jacob Jasper four times, and Noah Hoffner picked off Jasper in the 3rd quarter. Hoffner also had three receptions on offense for 54 yards. Yingling found the endzone again on a 26-yard run in the 3rd to make it 24-7 West Branch. Yingling carried the rock 38 times for 219 yards and two scores. Godin hit a 36-yard field goal in the 4th, and Gutierrez found paydirt on a 2-yard run with under a minute to go to cap off the scoring for West Branch.
“We knew all week that #1 (Jasper) was the key to their offense,” lineman Johnny Milliron said. “He’s a good athlete, so our goal was to contain him. I think the entire defense did a good job all night long keeping him in check.”
The Warriors tallied 346 total yards of offense, while Glendale earned 241.
West Branch (3-1) travels to Mount Union (0-4) next Friday.
BOX SCORE:
Score By Quarters
West Branch 14 3 7 10
Glendale 7 0 0 7
Individual Statistics
Rushing:
Derek Yingling 38-219 (2 TD’s)
Ayden Gutierrez 5-22 (1 TD)
Will Herring 5-7
Passing:
Ayden Gutierrez 6-16, 119 yds., 1 TD, 1 INT
Receiving:
Noah Hoffner 3-54
Josh Cantolina 2-61 (1 TD)
Will Herring 1-4
