Bulldogs running back Aryan Cotterman added his name to that list Friday. The 6-2, 210-pound senior ran for 274 yards and six touchdowns to lead Meadville to a 53-6 win at War Memorial Field.

“We couldn’t stop him,” Warren coach Mark Morelli said. “We had a plan going in and when Plan A doesn’t work and Plan B doesn’t work, you run out of alternatives.”

As a team, Meadville ran for 514 yards on 56 carries. The Bulldogs defense pushed the Dragons around all night, to the tune of negative-2 yards on the ground.

“They took us to the woodshed,” Morelli said. “Their line is impressive.”

Warren sophomore Ben White escapes Meadville’s Isaac Chatman during the first quarter of Friday’s game at War Memorial Field.

After a Warren (3-2 overall, 1-2 Region 7) 3-and-out to start the game, Cotterman capped a 10-play Meadville (4-1, 3-0) drive with a 12-yard touchdown run. The Bulldogs marched 82 yards on the drive, all on the ground.

“We had a plan to try to gain the momentum right away,” Morelli said. “But their defensive line dominated. They took it to us.”

The Dragons turned the ball over on downs on their next possession and the Bulldogs wasted little time extending their lead. Quarterback Landon Beck ran a play fake, then hit Hayden Parks in stride down the middle for a 56-yard scoring strike.

Warren tried to answer with a big play of its own, but Micah Passmore’s intended pass for Alex Anderson sailed high and was intercepted. Meadville went 70 yards in nine plays and Cotterman finished off the drive with a 1-yard run to make it 20-0 after the first quarter.

“We were not ready for the uptick in physicality,” Morelli said. “You can’t simulate that physicality in practice and this is the most physical line we’ve seen.”

Warren's Ryan Arnold leaps for a catch in the second quarter.

Two plays after a Dragons punt, Cotterman found himself in the end zone again. He followed Chandler Edwards’ 26-yard run with a 24-yard sprint to paydirt and a 26-0 advantage.

Cotterman came up with a pair of big conversions on Meadville’s next possession. He rumbled 36 yards on a 3rd-and-11 to keep the drive alive, then scored from 18 yards out on a 4th-and-8.

Ryan Arnold gave the home fans something to get excited about on the ensuing kickoff. He fielded the ball at the 10, started toward the middle, made a move and sprinted past the coverage down the left sideline for a 90-yard return touchdown. It’s Arnold’s third kickoff return touchdown this season.

“Special teams can be really good when you have good skill kids,” Morelli said. “They can make things happen, especially with the scheme and effort we’re getting.”

The play seemed to energize the Dragons. They forced a Meadville punt and took the ensuing possession down to the Bulldogs 22. Passmore was dropped for a loss, threw an incompletion and was dropped for another loss to force a punt.

The Flannel Panel with their USA theme cheers on the Dragons.

Warren dug its heels in on Meadville’s first possession of the second half and forced a punt. Arnold had another big return to put the Dragons in business at the Meadville 41. Passmore’s first down pass hung up a bit and was picked off by Drew Stewart. Stewart took the ball down to the Dragons 35 and Cotterman took it in from the 1 to push the lead to 39-6.

Meadville got the ball near midfield on its next drive and on second down Cotterman sprinted 47 yards through the defense for his sixth and final touchdown of the night.

Tamaj Lyons-Glover had a 4-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter to cap the scoring.

In addition to Cotterman’s impressive performance, Edwards finished with 105 rushing yards and Parks had 137 total yards.

“This is the best team we’ve seen,” Morelli said. “Give credit to Coach (Raymond) Collins and his staff. They were 0-9 last year and are 4-1 now and one of the top teams in the region.”

The Warren Dragon cheerleaders lead the 'Dragon Rumble.'

Meadville hosts Franklin next week while Warren travels to Oil City.

Meadville 20 12 14 7–53

Warren 0 6 0 0–6

First Quarter

M–Aryan Cotterman 12 run (Sam Burchard kick), 7:21.

M–Hayden Parks 56 pass from Landon Beck (Burchard kick), 5:00.

M–Cotterman 1 run (Burchard kick missed), 0:21.

Second Quarter

M–Cotterman 24 run (Burchard kick blocked), 9:54.

M–Cotterman 18 run (Beck pass failed), 6:29.

W–Ryan Arnold 90 kickoff return (Sawyer Mohney kick blocked), 6:16.

Third Quarter

M–Cotterman 1 run (Burchard kick), 7:04.

M–Cotterman 47 run (Burchard kick), 4:38.

Fourth Quarter

M–Tamaj Lyons-Glover 4 run (Burchard kick), 4:02.

——

M W

First downs 21 8

Total Net Yards 581 68

Rushes-yards 56-514 23-(-2)

Passing 67 70

Comp-Att-Int 3-5-0 10-21-3

Fumbles-Lost 0-0 0-0

Penalties-Yards 6-53 1-5

——

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING–Meadville, Cotterman 20-274-6, Chandler Edwards 14-105, Parks 13-81, Lyons-Glover 4-21-1, Khalon Simmons 1-24, Beck 2-10, Amari Lewis 2-(-1). Warren, Arnold 1-4, Jamo Douvlos 1-2, Landon Douvlos 1-2, Brady Olewine 1-0, Ethan Benedict 4-(-2), Micah Passmore 15-(-8).

PASSING–Meadville, Beck 3-5-67-1-0. Warren, Passmore 9-17-70-0-2, L. Douvlos 1-4-0-0-1.

RECEIVING–Meadville, Parks 1-56-1, Austin Chess 1-8, Brody Beuchat 1-3. Warren, Arnold 6-26, Alex Anderson 3-44, Benedict 1-0.

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