Warwick comes out swinging, clamps down on defense in victory vs. Fleetwood

It’s a long way from an 0-2 start, but Warwick football has made the journey to 4-3 overall, 3-1 in Section Three of the Lancaster-Lebanon League behind a give-little-ground defense and an offense that is coming into its own.

Junior quarterback Thomas Myers was 10-for-14 passing with an interception for 113 yards and three touchdowns as the Warriors triggered the mercy rule late in the third quarter en route to a 35-14 win over visiting Fleetwood.

“We wanted to set the tone early,” Myers said. “And we kept fighting. These guys, they don’t want to quit, ever.”

Myers tossed TDs to Rowen Greenaway (3-54), for 43 yards; Bode Madara (3-29), for 25 yards and Grant Lugar (2-17) for 5 yards.

“I saw my guys open and I trusted them to make the grab,” Myers said. “And the offensive line blocked well.”

Jackson Shelby returned a back-breaking interception 56 yards for a second quarter score and Malachi Rodriguez (14 carries, 77 yards) scored on a 4-yard run that triggered the mercy rule. His second-half-opening 49-yard kickoff set up a seven play march capped by Madara’s TD catch.

Warwick fumbles led to a pair of Tiger TDs in the fourth quarter. Chase Domenech got loose down the right sideline and Chase McMonagle found him for a 97-yard catch-and-run TD. Nathan Kummerer’s score came after the Warriors lost the football at the 19.

Turning point

The Warrior defense held the Tigers (0-3, 3-4) to one first down on their first six possessions, intercepting McMonagle three times. The third came to Shelby, who nearly picked off McMonagle on the previous play. With nothing but green in front of him he raced 56 yards to paydirt.

Key statistic

The Tigers had 36 yards net on 17 rushes. A statistic padded by Kummerer’s three carries for 31 yards and a 12-yard TD with 4:51 to play.

Quotable

“Our defense has been fantastic the entire year, rock-solid,” Warriors head coach Bob Locker said. “We just have to be able to score X amount of points on a Friday night. You should be able to create a way to score twice a night.”