MOULTON, Ala. — On a warm and muggy night, the West Point Warriors traveled north on state route 157 to take on the Lawrence County Red Devils. West Point looked to get back into action after last week’s game was canceled due to Covid protocols. West Point entered the evening with a 2-0 record while Lawrence County was 0-1 but the Warriors left with a 3-0 record after topping the Red Devils 14-7.
West Point took the opening kickoff and gained 20 yards on the first run by Kelton Washington. The Warriors were soon threatening when they got deep inside Red Devils territory. An untimely holding call stalled the drive when Eli Folds didn’t complete a fourth down pass and Lawrence County took over on their own 28-yard line.
The first quarter ended with both teams having drives stall due to penalties. The Red Devils continued their second drive into the second quarter. Aided by a defensive pass interference call against the Warriors, the Red Devils were deep in West Point territory. The West Point defense stiffened, and Lawrence County faced a fourth and one from the West Point 25. A low snap caused quarterback Parker Frost to inadvertently put his knee down and the Warriors took over on their own 30-yard line.
Quarterback Eli Folds wasted no time to put the Warriors on the scoreboard with a 70-yard touchdown run. Omar Segundo’s extra point was good and West Point led the ballgame 7-0 with 8:46 left in the first half.
The Red Devils got excellent field position when Wyatt Dutton returned the ensuing kickoff for 27 yards. Frost completed a 32-yard pass to Alandis Johnson. Two plays later, Austin Williams scored on an 11-yard run. Williams then performed double duty as he got the successful extra point kick and tied the ballgame 7-7 with 6:56 left in the first half.
After a punt by West Point, Lawrence County’s next drive was stopped by an interception by Suyeta DrowningBear and returned the ball near midfield. Both teams were unable to score, and the first half ended tied 7-7.
Lawrence County punted to start the second half after running seven plays. West Point got their first possession on their own 39-yard line. On the sixth play of the drive, the Warriors faced a fourth and six when Folds completed a 17-yard pass to Isaac Hoffpauir for a first down. Strong running by Washington got West Point to the 2-yard line where Folds completed the scoring drive with a 1-yard run. The drive consumed most of the third quarter and with 36 seconds left in the third quarter West Point extended their lead to 14-7.
Lawrence County continued their next drive into the fourth quarter. A 33-yard run by Arnold Alexander put the Red Devils in position to answer the touchdown by the Warriors and tie the game. First and goal from West Point’s 5-yard line had Lawrence County in position to potentially tie the game. Two incomplete passes and a false start penalty had the Red Devils facing a fourth and goal from the 7-yard line. Williams was stopped after a 6-yard run and the Warriors completed their successful goal line stand.
Just when it looked like West Point would run out the clock, penalties once again came into play and the Warriors had to punt the ball giving the Red Devils another chance to tie the game. After forcing Lawrence County into third and 14, a defensive pass interference call gave the Red Devils new life in West Point territory with a first down. West Point’s defense rose to the occasion again when Frost was sacked on fourth down with under a minute to play in the game. The Warriors ran the clock out and headed home with a 14-7 victory.
After the game Warriors Head Coach Don Farley said,
“Another down to the wire game between Lawrence County and West Point. Less than 10-point victories the last few years,” Farley said. “Our defense stepped up when needed. Our offense came through to help give us the win.”
The Warriors ended the game with 269 yards of total offense led by Washington’s 158 yards on 24 carries. West Point travels to Boaz next week for another region game with their record at 3-0.
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