WACO- The Warriors finish the season one win away from calling themselves State Champions. Unfortunately, that honor goes to Remsen St. Mary’s as they flew to a 38-16 victory for their third state championship in school history, the second in three years.
The Hawks scored the first 24 points of the game as they were able to run the ball effectively with Brenden Fisch and aided by Cael Ortmann being precise through the air. However, it was the defense of the Hawks that forced two key fumbles, one returned for a one-yard touchdown by Jaxon Bunkers and the other was stripped away with the Warriors only two yards away from scoring their first touchdown halfway through the second quarter. Simeon Reichenbach nailed a 49-yard field goal before halftime to make it 24-3. The Hawks needed only two plays to score their first touchdown of the second half, as Fisch raced down the sideline for a 62-yard touchdown run, then scored his fifth touchdown of the day late in the third quarter for the Hawks last score of the game. The Warriors made things interesting late in the game when Isaac Oswald tossed a 25-yard touchdown pass to Colton Leichty with 1:51 left in the third quarter, and early in the fourth quarter Reichenbach walked into the endzone for a 1-yard touchdown run to make it 38-16. Unfortunately, Remsen St. Mary’s was able to run out the clock and get one more defensive stop to make that the final score.
WACO finished the year with a 13-1 record with Coach Edeker remarking after the game, “We didn’t quit…just a little bit too late.”