WELLS BRIDGE — The battle of the unbeatens was close until the fourth quarter on Friday night. Visiting Walton had a slim 30-28 lead going into the fourth quarter, but did not let host Unatego score in the last 12 minutes.

The Warriors scored twice, with one of the touchdowns being set up after a Spartan fumble. The visitors also picked off a pass, and ran the clock out, inches from the goal line, and finished with a 46-28 victory.

"We had 78 rushing plays, and just one pass. They only had the ball for about 10 minutes," Warrior Head Coach Jim Hoover remarked. "We were getting five or six yards on most of the carries."

 

	GOOD RUNBACK — Derek Mead (25) gains some good yardage on a punt return during Friday's game at Unatego. The Warriors controlled the ball for more than three quarters of the game, and pinned the first loss on the host Spartans, by a 46-28 count. photo by Brian C. Horey Photo.

The home forces scored first, when Josh Feyerabend connected with Tanner Winchester on a 30-yard touchdown, and the conversion kick failed. The visitors responded with a three-yard "keeper by quarterback Trevor Zandt, and Dawson Beers' conversion run gave them an 8-6 led.

The two teams traded touchdowns twice in the second stanza. Unatego got six points with Feyerabend's 15-yard pass to Ryan Marszal and an incomplete pass on the conversion attempt, after which the Warriors got a nine-yard touchdown run by Christian Rutherford, who also scored the two points to make the score 16-12.

After the "Orange Crush" defense denied the Spartans a score, Zandt threw his only pass, which was caught by Robert Merrill for a 33-yard touchdown, and the lead was 22-12 after a conversion run was stopped. The Spartans cut the margin to 22-20 with a 31-yard scoring pass from Feyerabend to Marszal, and a two-point pass from Feyerabend to Kyle Spaulding, and that was the halftime score.

 

	FORCING A FUMBLE — Walton's Christian Rutherford (33) strips the ball from Unatego quarterback Josh Feyerabend (3), and the ball was recovered by the Warriors' Alex Sorochinsky during Friday's game. Walton finished with a 46-28 victory on the Spartans' home field. photo by Brian C. Horey Photo.

In the third quarter, Unatego regained the lead, at 28-22, when Feyerabend passed to Winchester for a 42-yard scoring play, and Feyerabend ran for the conversion. Again, the Warriors took to the ground on a six-minute-plus drive that culminated with a one-yard burst across the goal line by Quinn Harby. Zandt ran for the conversion, giving Walton a lead it would not relinquish, at 30-28.

The visitors went ahead, 38-28, when Zandt went into the end zone from a yard away, and Beers ran for the conversion. For the clinching touchdown, Beers scored on a one-yard plunge and Zandt ran for two again, completing the 46-28 final count.

"In addition to the long drives, we also made a couple of key stops," Hoover stated. "We also were able to keep the ball this week, and we did not have any turnovers."

 

	GOING FOR TWO — Christian Rutherford (33) of Walton beats the Unatego defense to the goal scoring a two-point conversion in the second quarter of Friday's game. The Warriors went on to defeat the host Spartans, 46-28. photo by Brian C. Horey Photo.

After the final Walton touchdown, with 2:26 remaining on the clock, the Spartans had the ball again. Jared Smith threw a pass that was swatted away by Zach Steitz and wound up as an interception by Jacob Merrill, who carried it to the five yard line. The Warriors ran out the clock after getting just short of the goal line on the next play, first getting a delay of game penalty, and finally, "taking a knee."

Harby led Walton's 339-yard ground attack, with 146 yards on 29 rushes and Beers added 100 yards on 23 totes. For Unatego, Feyerabend completed eight of 19 passes for 192 yards, with 131 yards and four catches going to Winchester.

"The offensive line did a great job, which kept our momentum going all day," Hoover added. "We cannot be happier to get this big win."

 

	PASS IS COMPLETE — Tanner Winchester (6) of Unatego clutches the ball, and will soon finish a 41-yard play early in Friday's game, which set up a touchdown. Visiting Walton matched the Spartans for the first three quarters, and when the Warriors added 16 points in the fourth, they won, 46-28. photo by Brian C. Horey Photo.

Presently, with their 6-0 overall record and 4-0 in Class D Division VI of the Section IV Football Conference, the Warriors have clinched the division and will be either the first or second seed for the playoffs. Tioga, the Division VII leader, is also undefeated, and the final regular season games this weekend will make the difference in the seeding.

This Saturday, Walton will play host to Bainbridge-Guilford on "Senior Day." The Bobcats have just one win this season, but, Hoover stressed, "We cannot take them too lightly. They do a lot of different things, and now they have Dave Kelly's defense and