Warren entered Friday night already needing to navigate a difficult non-conference matchup without several important pieces of its offense and defense. Sheridan made that challenge considerably harder in a hurry.
The Yellow Jackets scored 25 unanswered points in the opening quarter and turned four first-half interceptions into a commanding advantage on the way to a 51-13 win over the Lumberjacks at Jim Hurley, Jr. Stadium.
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The game was called early in the third quarter when lightning from a storm west of Warren moved into the area. After play was stopped, the two head coaches met on the field and agreed to end the game.
The loss dropped Warren to 1-2 and brought an end to the Lumberjacks’ non-conference schedule. A well-timed bye week now awaits before Warren opens 8-4A Conference play September 25 at DeWitt.
Before kickoff, Warren paused for a ceremony commemorating the 25th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks. WoodmenLife provided a 60-by-30-foot American flag that was unfurled across the field as part of the remembrance.
Once play began, Sheridan quickly took control.
Warren came into the ballgame with three different cogs in its offensive production machine unavailable. Josiah Steen and Tayshawn Marshall were both out after suffering injuries against Fountain Lake a week earlier, while Zaydin Grider remained sidelined following an injury earlier in the season.
Sheridan won the coin toss and elected to receive, starting at its own 20 following a Jacarlos Marquez touchback.
The Yellow Jackets appeared to strike first on an 18-yard touchdown pass, but a holding penalty wiped it away with 9:58 remaining in the opening quarter. The reprieve lasted only one play. Sheridan broke through the Warren front for a 28-yard touchdown run, although a bad snap spoiled the extra point and left the score at 6-0.
JaKoby Avery returned the ensuing squib kick to the Warren 36, but Sheridan intercepted Warren on the second play of the possession.
The Yellow Jackets capitalized quickly. A 21-yard touchdown pass over the middle with 7:53 remaining pushed the lead to 12-0 after another missed extra point.
Warren began to find some footing on its next possession. Jackson Denton connected with Jeremiah Hines for the Lumberjacks’ first first down of the night, moving the ball to the Warren 38. Two plays later, however, Sheridan jumped a pass and returned the interception 50 yards for a touchdown.
The extra point made it 19-0 with 6:20 still to play in the first quarter.
Avery again gave Warren favorable field position with a kickoff return to the 41, but the Lumberjacks were forced to punt.
Sheridan added another explosive play with 2:29 remaining in the quarter, scoring on a 38-yard pass on a corner route. Another mishandled snap prevented the extra point, but the Yellow Jackets had stretched the lead to 25-0.
Sheridan intercepted another Warren pass with 52 seconds remaining, and the Yellow Jackets carried the momentum into the second quarter.
A 48-yard touchdown with 11:11 left in the half made it 31-0.
Warren then put together one of its better offensive sequences of the half. Denton opened the possession with a completion to Coleman Byrd for a first down and followed two plays later by finding Ty Hembree to move the ball near midfield. Hembree picked up eight more yards and another first down on the next snap as the Lumberjacks crossed into Sheridan territory.
The drive eventually stalled, but Emanuel Pahuamba flipped the field with a punt that was downed at the Sheridan 1-yard line with 8:53 remaining.
One play later, Warren turned field position into points.
Sheridan mishandled the snap near its own goal line, and Warren’s Jaxstyn Ingram pounced on the loose ball in the end zone for a touchdown. The extra point was unsuccessful, cutting the deficit to 31-6.
The momentum lasted only seconds.
On Sheridan’s first snap after the kickoff, the Yellow Jackets slipped the ball to their tailback on a screen pass, and he went 80 yards for a touchdown. The extra point restored a 38-6 Sheridan advantage with 8:09 remaining in the half.
The Yellow Jackets continued to lean on explosive plays, adding a 33-yard touchdown pass through the middle seam of Warren’s zone with 3:30 to play.
Another interception became Sheridan’s second defensive touchdown of the half when it was returned 43 yards for a score with 2:14 remaining. Warren blocked the extra point, leaving the score at 51-6.
The Lumberjacks kept trying to move the football before halftime. Denton connected with Hembree for 15 yards over the middle with 1:54 remaining, but Denton was injured later in the possession and Warren was forced to turn to its backup quarterback.
Sheridan intercepted a pass at its own 23 with about a minute left, then sent its second-team offense onto the field to close the half with the Yellow Jackets leading 51-6.
With the mercy rule in effect and the clock running continuously in the second half, Warren produced one final offensive highlight.
Avery broke free for a 42-yard touchdown run with 10:00 remaining in the third quarter. The extra point was good, bringing the score to 51-13.
Warren’s defense continued to compete on Sheridan’s ensuing possession, highlighted by a strong tackle from Ingram in Yellow Jacket territory.
Minutes later, officials stopped play because of lightning associated with a nearby storm. After the coaches conferred, the decision was made to end the game with Sheridan ahead 51-13.
For Warren, the scheduled week off comes at an opportune time.
Warren now has nearly two weeks to recover, regroup and prepare for the portion of the schedule that will ultimately determine its postseason path.
Conference play begins September 25 when the Lumberjacks travel to DeWitt.
