Warren County bests J.F. Webb 22-6
Aug. 29—WARRENTON — Back-to-back touchdowns in the first half and two second-half interceptions by Tyler Wharton went a long way toward securing Warren County's first win of the 2022 football season, a 22-6 victory over J.F. Webb.
Now 1-1, the Eagles took control of the game in the second quarter with drives of 59 and 44 yards.
Running back Joel Bryant capped the first drive with a 12-yard scamper up the middle for a touchdown, and Noah Dortch cashed in the two-point conversion to make the score.
The ensuing short kickoff led to a bobble and a Warren County recovery, setting up the Eagles for their second tally after quarterback Najah Williams found Demontay Hawkins on a 15-yard pass to keep the drive alive on third down. A 5-yard touchdown run and a two-point conversion from Dortch made the score 16-0.
Warren County scored again in the third quarter on a Williams touchdown keeper on fourth-and-goal, but Webb responded with its first score of the season. Quarterback Daymion Williams — filling in for injured senior Braden Cooper — capped a 53-yard drive with a keeper of his own to make the score 22-6.
The visiting Warriors, now 0-2 on the season, had more chances, but Wharton's interceptions snuffed out two drives to seal the victory. Both came off attempts by Williams to throw over the middle, the first early in the fourth quarter and the second on Webb's final possession.
The game was marred in the third quarter by a fight in front of the Warren County bench that saw players from both sides ejected. N.C. High School Athletic Association rules mean those players now face suspensions, and that their teams' ability to participate in the 2022 playoffs is in jeopardy.
From Webb, referees ejected Demare Smith, Maiek Fields and Kaelen Smith, and from Warren County, they also booted Hawkins and Tre'shon Harris.
The fisticuffs began behind the play as Dortch was completing a long fourth-and-4 run down the sideline, after a Webb player and a Warren County player got tangled up. The Webb player took exception, and matters escalated from there as more players from both sides arrived on the scene. By the time coaches and referees got them separated, Kaelen Smith was helmetless amid a scuffle on the Warren bench.
After the game, Webb coach Eli Sessoms first with his players and then in an interview stressed that "fighting under no circumstances is tolerated within the program."
"At the end of the day, when you have scuffles, when you have things like that, it takes away from your momentum. That really set our kids back. We lost some of our key guys."
He added, though, that the ejection-trigger vacancies helped the team find "some football players in guys that we have that are young, although you don't want to find those football players under circumstances like that."
Sessoms took blame for Webb's failure to score points on a pair of first-and-goal chances at the beginning and end of the first half, the first of which ended in a missed field goal attempt and the second with an incomplete pass.
Williams "made some good plays" throughout, and will benefit from film study and coaching as he settles into the quarterback job in the wake of the season-ending knee injury Cooper suffered the week before in Webb's first game, Sessoms said.
On Warren County's side of the field, beyond the fight-related suspension the team also had to make do for much of the second half without the services of Dortch, who went down with an injury later in that same drive. Medics took him by ambulance to Maria Parham Health in Henderson for evaluation.
"Noah's a tough kid. From what I could [tell] on the headset, he wanted to get up, but they wouldn't let him," said Warren County head coach V.J. Hunt, who after testing positive for COVID-19 coached the game from the back of a pickup truck parked near a corner of the north end zone. "He'll be alright. Obviously safety is going to be first, so we'll make sure he's at full strength before he comes back."
An injury in kickoff coverage also cost the Eagles Bryant's services later in the game, Hunt said.
Hunt said the Warren defense has played well two weeks in a row and is giving the team the chance to win games. The Eagles bounced back Friday from an opening-game loss to Vance County.
Wharton's interceptions gave him three on the season so far. He has "has been a solid piece for us," Hunt said. "He's just a good player, a good all-around player. His ball skills are off the chart.
As for the fight, Hunt said the incident showed the need for the Eagles to "stay composed regardless" of what happens on the field.
Contact Ray Gronberg at rgronberg@hendersondispatch.com or by phone at 252-436-2850.
Contact Ray Gronberg at rgronberg@hendersondispatch.com or by phone at 252-436-2850.
