WEST POINT, Ala. — The West Point Warriors opened up their 2021 JV season at home Monday night as they welcomed the Haleyville Lions. Behind a solid running game and a great game plan defensively, the Warriors ended up holding off the Lions at the end 14-8.
West Point got off to a slow start on their first defensive series, getting back-to-back penalties, as that put Haleyville at the 40-yard line. But they quickly settled down, forcing the Lions to turn the ball over on downs. West Point got the ball at the 38-yard line to start out their first series on offense. After two straight runs for short gains, Hunter Hensley found Noah Bryan for nine yards and a first down. The Warriors ran the ball four straight times, getting another first down in the process, then Hensley found Omar Segundo for 22 yards and that put West Point at the nine-yard line. Garit Roberson then found the end zone on the next play to give the Warriors a 8-0 lead with 4:40 remaining in the first half.
Another bad penalty by West Point put the Lions at the 49-yard line, but again, the defense stiffened, forcing Haleyville to punt. The Warriors looked to add another touchdown before the first half ended. Huge runs by Roberson, Hensley and Noah Laney quickly put West Point at the 26-yard line, but they didn’t get any further than that as the half came to an end with the Warriors up by a score of 8-0.
The second half started with West Point continuing to pound the ball on the ground and wearing down the Lion defense. A huge 26-yard run by Dawson Smith, followed by a 12-yard run by Hensley, quickly put the Warriors at the four-yard line and Laney punched it in from a yard out two plays later as West Point increased their lead to 14-0 with 18 seconds remaining in the third quarter. The Lions didn’t waste any time on its next offensive series, quickly marching the ball down the field before finding the end zone on an 11-yard touchdown pass to make it a 14-8 game with 4:44 remaining in the game.
Laney and Hensley picked up a couple of early first downs for West Point as they looked to milk away the last few minutes of the contest. Laney then picked up a couple of first downs to help seal the 14-8 win for the Warriors.
Laney finished the night with 63 yards and a touchdown for West Point. Hensley added 57 more on the ground, while Smith ended up with 41 rushing yards. Roberson finished with 16 yards and a touchdown. The Warriors will host Fairview next Monday night at 6:30 p.m.
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