There was a threat of lightning in the area, but it was the Dragons lighting up the scoreboard on Friday.
Warren struck early and often en route to an 83-12 non-region thrashing of the visiting Clarion-Limestone at War Memorial Field.
Not one to waste time, Warren senior Jordan Willetts took the opening kick-off 80 yards for a score and the Dragons never looked back. Warren would score three more times before letting the visitors on the board midway through the second quarter.
Article Photos
Times Observer photo by Jon Sitler
Quite the opener
Warren’s Jordan Willetts takes the opening kickoff en route to a touchdown in Warren’s 83-12 non-region win over Clarion-Limestone on Friday at War Memorial Field. Warren improved to 2-0 in its home opener. Inset, Willetts is congratulated by teammates.
The Dragons didn't take long to respond when quarterback Austin Jerman scampered 72 yards into the end zone just 20 seconds after the Lions' touchdown. Jerman continued to own the second quarter, throwing two touchdown passes, one to tight end Marc Davis and another to running back Luke Wortman.
Warren picked up right where it left off after the half when Chris McNeal broke off a 49-yard run for a touchdown. With the mercy rule in effect, the Dragons scored a pair of pick-six defensive touchdowns from the defensive duo of Cody McGraw and D.J. Fehlman. The score was Fehlman's second after recovering a blocked punt in the Clarion-Limestone end zone.
Warren junior Cody Gunn put the icing on the cake with a 14-yard run for the game's final score.
Whew.
According to Times Observer records, the most points ever scored by the Dragons over the past 97 football seasons was a 104-0 shellacking of Franklin in 1915. Other significant scoring outputs came in an 89-0 win against Ridgway in 1923; 85-3 over Salamanca, N.Y. the same year as the 104-point outburst (in fact, the game before) in 1915; and an 81-0 win over Ludlow in 1921.
More recent offensive explosions came during the 2010 season when the Dragons beat Titusville 58-0 and Franklin 59-6.
Coincidentally, also during the 1915 season the Dragons lost 7-6 to the Bradford Owls, whom they play next Friday.
Friday's game did not last the full 48 minutes, as both coaches agreed to play a shortened, six-minute fourth quarter due to the score differential and an incoming storm.
Warren was the storm.
Jerman had 101 yards on the ground and 88 passing for four touchdowns. Warren had 451 total yards to C-L's 160.
Kyle Kulka came off the bench for a 67-yard run deep into the fourth quarter.
Despite the blowout victory, Warren coach Brad Wright believes his team has room for improvement.
"We have to look at the tape," said Wright, whose Dragons are now 2-0. "We had some dropped balls, and some missed assignments on defense that need to be taken care of."
Clarion-Limestone-Warren Stats
Clarion - Limestone0120 0- 12
Warren 21 28 340- 83
First Quarter
W - Jordan Willetts 80 yard kick return, 11:48; Ryan Shattuck kick
W - Luke Wortman 3 yard run, 4:09; Shattuck kick
W - Austin Jerman 14 yard run, 1:07; Shattuck kick
Second Quarter
W - Matt Falvo 2 yard run, 9:58; Shattuck kick
C-L - Christian Bakewell 18 yard pass to Tommy Smith, 5:57; Extra point blocked
W - Jerman 72 yard run, 5:37; Shattuck kick
C-L - Bakewell 7 yard pass to Brent Slater, 4:28; Extra point no good
W - Jerman 6 yard pass to Marc Davis, 2:40; Shattuck kick
W - Jerman 22 yard pass to Luke Wortman, 0:44; Shattuck kick
Third Quarter
W - Chris McNeal 49 yard run, 7:44; Shattuck kick
W - Cody McGraw 25 yard interception return, 7:15; Shattuck kick
W - Blocked punt recovered by DJ Fehlman, 4:13; Shattuck kick
W - Fehlman 23 yard interception return, 3:17; Extra point no good
W - Cody Gunn 14 yard run, 1:40; Shattuck kick
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C-LW
Offensive Plays5135
First downs616
Rushes-yards26-4920-363
Passing11188
Total Yards160451
Comp-Att-Int14-25-26-15-0
Fumbles-Lost3-13-2
Penalties-Yards6-242-30
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INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING- W - Austin Jerman 3-101 2TD, Chris McNeal 6-99 TD, Kyle Kulka 1-67, Luke Wortman 6-47 TD, Matt Falvo 2-43 TD, Cody Gunn 1-14 TD, Jordan Willetts 1- -8; C-L - Mario Rombold 2-15, Noah Rankin 2-12, Jesse Pezzuti 4-11, David Macefe 7-9, Kyle Robertson 3-5, Joe Tomassi 2-1, Christian Bakewell 5- -2, Brent Slater 1- -2.
PASSING- W - Austin Jerman 6/15-88 2TD; C-L - Christian Bakewell 13/23-113 2TD, Jesse Pezzuti 1/2- 0.
RECEIVING- W - Marc Davis 2-37 TD, Luke Wortman 2-35 TD, Chris McNeal 1-8, Jordan Willetts 1-8; C-L - Brent Slater 7-35 TD, Tommy Smith 4-73 TD, Chase Alcorn 3-3.