Warriors Surprise Browns – Move on to Semi Finals

Jonas Emilsson
www.KramMag.com

The Henry Wise Wood Warriors earned a spot in the senior boys’ Div I football playoffs after an impressive 18-3 quarter final victory over the St. Francis Browns.

Three weeks ago the Warriors playoff chances had an enormous question mark beside it.

They were the owners of an unflattering 0-5 record with two games left to play in the regular season, both of which were obviously must-win games.

It would have been easy to call the season a bust and to simply give in to the fact that this wasn’t going to be their year.

But when you represent a school that is known for consistently putting together quality football teams the words quit is erased from the schools’ dictionaries.

“They know when it matters and they’re ready to step up to the plate,” said Warriors’ head coach when talking about his team’s ability to raise their performance in big-game situations.

“We lost three football games by three or less points,” continued Ehramnn. “Yeah, we weren’t killing them offensively, we were’t putting the points up, but, we were in these games. So to me, it’s not a surprise to see a close game or a win from our kids.”

The Warriors knew that winning the last two games would most-likely get them into the playoffs, and once they were in, anything could happen.

They took care of the regular season business by first defeating the Lord Beaverbrook Lords, followed by a narrow victory over the John G Diefenbaker Chiefs to clinch a birth in the post season.

Heading into the their quarter final matchup against the St. Francis Brown the Warriors had three things going for them.

First, they now had some momentum after winning two games in a row.

Secondly, they were facing their main rival in the Browns, so getting up for the games wasn’t going to be a problem.

“St. Francis is always a very well-coached team and they’re very disciplined in the things they do,” said Ehrmann “Having played them so many times we’re quite aware of what they’re trying to do.”

“We knew that a big part of the game for us was going to be containing their quarterback, he’s a heck of an athlete.”

Three, a recent quote by the Browns’ coaching staff in a local newspaper was perceived as a bit of a slight against the Warriors.

Whether the quoted words were intended as a slight is irrelevant, but all good coaches look for anything that may help them motivate the troops.

“I think that was a motivating factor for our kids and I think coming out they were well prepared and looking forward to proving people wrong,” said Ehrmann. “It’s very easy for us to motivate our kids to play St. Francis, so that’s a good matchup for us.”

The Warriors got on the board early in the game when Kyle Burrell grabbed a pass from quarterback Tom Punt at mid-field and blazed through the Browns’ defense for a touchdown.

“We knew that a big part of the game for us was going to be containing their quarterback, he’s a heck of an athlete.”

A field goal extended their lead to 10-0 early in the second quarter.

Late in the opening half the Browns had the Warriors pinned deep in their own zone, threatening to narrow the gap to three. But the Warriors defense stood tall and forced the Browns to settle for a field goal.

The only points scored in the third quarter was a single point that came off a missed Warriors field goal, but the single point was still key because it meant that the Browns would at least need a touchdown and a two-point convert to tie the game.

But the Warriors’ defense played perfect football down the stretch, keeping the desperate Browns’ offense from generating any points.

With seven minutes left o play in the game Punt sealed the victory for the Warriors on a brave 10-yard quarterback sneak that just saw him get the ball across the goal line.

On the Browns’ next possession, Punt played the safety position to perfection when he jumped into the passing lane and intercepted a pass on the Warriors’ 40-yard line.

With their quarter-final victory the Warriors now face the daunting task of preparing to face the undefeated Notre Dame Pride.

Three weeks ago, the Pride defeated the Warriors 17-6, which is the last time the Warriors lost a game.

This time around, the Warriors are a completely different team and won’t be taken lightly by the Pride.

“It’s always nice to be underestimated,” said Ehrmann.

But now that the cat is out of the bag, the Warriors won’t have the surprise factor in their corner. Instead, they’ll be facing a well-prepared Pride team that will perhaps have a little bit of revenge on their side considering the Warriors are the only team to hand the Pride a loss in the last four years.

That loss, of course, came in last year’s city final.

“Our kids respect Notre Dame, we respect them as coaches,” said Ehrmann. “They’ve lost one football game in four years. They’re a fantastic team, and again, that’s a motivation for our kids.”

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