MCGEHEE, Ark. – Taking to the road in another tough 8-4A Conference matchup, the Warren Lumberjack Football team defeated the McGehee Owls by the final of 40-26 Friday night, September 23, 2022, to move to 3-1 on the season and 2-0 in conference play.
Enjoying a bit of cooler temperatures on the first full day of fall, Warren came into this game off the back of a nail-biter of a game at Star City last week, which saw the orange and black come away with a one-point victory and a major feather in their cap. Meanwhile, McGehee entered the ballgame staring in the mirror at back-to-back wins over Hamburg and Monticello.
Top photo: Maddox Lassiter throws a pass early in the first half during Warren’s week four game at McGehee. Photo by Robert Camp.
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Warren shot out of the gate quickly in the first quarter. Setup by a positive kickoff return by Jalin Lee to the 47-yard-line of McGehee, the Lumberjacks got to work. Clearly focused on finding a rhythm in the passing game, the Jacks tested things through the air in the opening minutes. Less than two minutes in, quarterback Maddox Lassiter hit Antonio Jordan for a 29-yard touchdown pass. It wouldn’t be the last time Lassiter connected with the sophomore. The extra-point attempt was tipped and no good. Warren led 6-0.
Lining up and pounding it out on the ground, McGehee put together a signature drive. Burning a big chunk of the clock, the Owls evened things up with 5:53 to go in the quarter from a 4-yard rush. They would go for two, but Warren held firm to keep things square at 6-6.
Again on the ensuing kickoff, Warren’s Lee made a nice return to set the Jacks up at the 46-yard-line. A couple of minutes later with the ball driven deep into Owl territory, Coach Bo Hembree dialed up a fake quarterback blast. Lassiter indicated a run off the right edge, instead pulling back and hitting Jordan once more, this time in the corner of the end zone for a touchdown. The Jacks lined up to kick the extra point, but a defensive penalty gave them the chance to punch in a two-point conversion. Unfortunately, it failed, and Warren’s lead remained at 12-6.
McGehee answered back swiftly. A huge kickoff return took the wind out of the Warren sails. The Owls found themselves after the return at the Warren five. They bull-dozed it in a play later, again failing on the two-point conversion to keep things even at 12-12.
Into the second quarter, Warren’s defense began to find its footing. At the 8:42 mark, the Jacks stopped McGehee on a third down and long, forcing a punt.
The following Warren drive was given a boost, yet again from the air. Lassiter delivered a beauty of a pass to sophomore Neon’dre Thomas for a 38-yard gain to the McGehee 27. With 6:29 left in the half, tailback Treylon Jackson took a handoff off the right tackle and bolted 27 yards for the score. Jose Jacinto converted the PAT to give Warren a 19-12 lead.
McGehee cut the separation with a long drive late in the half. Capped off with a one-yard rushing touchdown, the Owl offensive looked impressive on the ground. Their two-point conversion attempt was intercepted in the end zone by Warren’s Lee Johnson to keep the Jacks ahead 19-18 going into the midway break.
After halftime, the Jacks kicked off to McGehee. However, the Warren defense forced a quick three-and-out.
McGehee forced a turnover though on Warren’s next drive. Lassiter dropped back to pass, but the throw was tipped at the line of scrimmage. It fell kindly to an Owl linebacker.
They made good use of the situation, ripping off a 56-yard touchdown run with 6:31 left in the third. They would convert the two-point try, taking the lead over Warren at 26-19.
The Jacks answered back with ferocity just twelve seconds later on the kickoff. Sophomore Kam Davis fielded the kickoff, found a seem, hit the left sideline, and sprinted 82 yards for a touchdown. Jacinto knocked through the extra point to once again even things up at 26-26.
Warren’s defense came up big on the following McGehee drive, stuffing the line on a fourth and short play near midfield.
After taking over on downs, the Jacks carried the possession into the fourth. Deep into McGehee territory and facing a fourth down and four situation, Lassiter blasted his way forward on a quarterback power for a first down. He would finish off the drive himself a play later, crashing into the end zone from four yards out. Jacinto added the extra point to make it 33-26 Warren.
Warren’s defense made a couple of huge stops late on. Jalin Lee recovered a fumble around midfield to halt an Owl drive that looked to be marching. Then, Bryson Harris blew up a sweep off the left edge a few minutes later to force a long yardage situation. Desperate, and with the clock most certainly not on their side, McGehee went to the air with under 20 seconds remaining, still looking to even things up. A deep pass was intercepted by Warren corner Malik Day. Day turned on the afterburners and returned the pick 50-yards for a touchdown. Jacinto hit the point after to give us the final of 40-26 Warren.
The Jacks put up a total of 322 offensive yards on the night, 187 through the air, and 135 on the ground, in what was a much more balanced performance for the orange and black.
Treylon Jackson carried the ball 15 times for 68 yards and a touchdown.
Maddox Lassiter ran it 17 times for 67 yards and a touchdown.
Through the air, Warren looked much improved. Lassiter completed six out of ten passes for 187 yards and two touchdowns.
His favorite target was Antonio Jordan, who garnered 112 yards receiving from four catches.
Neon’dre Thomas had one grab for 43 yards, and Jalin Lee had one catch for 32 yards.
Kam Davis also contributed with a touchdown from special teams, returning one kickoff for an 82-yard touchdown.
Defensively, Warren gave McGehee all they wanted in the trenches. Maddox Lassiter was near every tackle, but we counted twelve takedowns by the senior Lumberjack.
Other defensive standouts were Delfino Rivera and Neeyo Harding, each with four tackles.
Malik Day had an interception returned for a 50-yard touchdown.
The Jacks improve to 3-1 overall and 2-0 in the 8-4A. They come back home next Friday night, September 30 to play host to the 1-3 Crossett Eagles. That game kicks off at 7:00 p.m. at Jim Hurley, Jr. Stadium in Warren.
