No one said the final stretch of Warren's schedule was going to be easy.
Facing their third undefeated opponent in as many weeks, the Dragons were downed by Quad-A DuBois, 39-13, on Friday night at War Memorial Field.
"They didn't surprise us," said Warren coach Brad Wright, whose Dragons fall to 6-2 overall and 3-2 in Region 5. "We knew they were going to be big and physical. We played well at first; we just let them have too many big plays."
Article Photos
Times Observer photo by Ben Oviatt
Hanging on
Warren’s D.J. Fehlman lays out to tackle DuBois’ Bryson Paulinellie during the Dragons’ 39-13 Region 5 loss to the undefeated Beavers on Friday at War Memorial Field.
DuBois, despite being in Class AAAA to Warren's Class AAA, as well as out of District 9, remains in first place in District 10's Region 5 at 4-0 (7-0 overall).
The Dragons got the ball rolling early, driving downfield on the game's first possession and scoring on a nine-yard run by Chris McNeal.
DuBois answered quickly when the ensuing kickoff was returned 88 yards for a touchdown by Garrett Brown. The extra point was blocked, leaving Warren with a 7-6 lead until DuBois struck again on a one-yard run from Shane Marshall roughly four minutes later.
Following a DuBois turnover on downs late in the second quarter, the Dragons strung together an 89-yard drive. It was capped with a 15-yard pass from Austin Jerman to Mark Davis, tying the score at 13-13 with just 35 seconds left in the half.
The tie would be short-lived, however, as Beavers quarterback Gabe French dumped the ball off to Brown on a screen, and he scampered 49 yards for a score 20 seconds later to put DuBois up going into the half.
The second half belonged to DuBois, as the Beavers outscored the Dragons 20-0 to put the game away.
Brown finished the game with 273 rushing yards on 32 carries, as well as 62 receiving yards on three catches and four total touchdowns.
Jerman led the Dragons' attack, completing 17-of-25 pass attempts for 159 yards and 66 more yards on the ground; this was without key offensive standout Luke Wortman, who missed the game due to an injury suffered last week, late in the Corry game. Warren was also without three others, including Cody McGraw.
Jordan Willetts had five catches for 50 yards, D.J. Fehlman four for 47, and Mark Davis four for 42 and a touchdown.
The Dragons currently sit in third place in the region, behind DuBois and Slippery Rock, both undefeated; and ahead of Bradford, Meadville, Oil City and next week's opponent Franklin.
"We need to continue to execute against Franklin, and limit big plays," said Wright.
DuBois - Warren Stats
DuBois136713-39
Warren7600-13
First Quarter
W - Chris McNeal 9 yard run, 9:10; Ryan Shattuck kick.
D - Garrett Brown 88 yard kick return, 8:56; Extra point blocked.
D - Shane Marshall 1 yard run, 4:33; Josh Hnat kick.
Second Quarter
W - Austin Jerman 15 yard pass to Mark Davis, 0:35; Extra point no good.
D - Gabe French 49 yard pass to Brown, 0:15; Extra point no good.
Third Quarter
D - Marshall 1 yard run, 2:54; Hnat kick.
Fourth Quarter
D - Brown 64 yard run, 6:32; Hnat kick.
D - Brown 1 yard run, 1:36; Extra point no good.
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DW
Offensive Plays5763
First downs1714
Rushes-yards42-29936-120
Passing Yards119159
Total Yards418279
Comp-Att-Int9-15-117-27-2
Fumbles-Lost0-00-0
Penalties-Yards6-411-1
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING-W - Austin Jerman 17-66, Jordan Willetts 7-32, Chris McNeal 3-9 1TD, Matt Falvo 4-9, Ryan Shattuck 1-5, DJ Fehlman 3-0, Cody Gunn 1-(-1); D - Garrett Brown 32-273 2TD, Ben Mayro 5-27, Shane Marshall 3-3 2TD, Bryson Paulinellie 2-(-4).
PASSING-W - Austin Jerman 17/25-159 1TD 2INT, Ryan Shattuck 0/1-0, DJ Fehlman 0/1-0; D - Gabe French 9/15-119 1TD 1INT.
RECEIVING-W - Jordan Willetts 5-50, DJ Fehlman 4-47, Mark Davis 4-42 1TD, Brad Walters 3-23, Chris McNeal 1-(-3); D - Garrett Brown 3-62 1TD, Garrett Miles 3-53, Bryson Paulinellie 3-4.