North Warren's Chris Longyhore wraps up Warren Hills' Corey Mack.Normally, a team doesn't use its goal-line or two-point conversion offense in the middle of the field.
But it certainly worked wonders for North Warren on Saturday night.
The Patriots shook Stan Johnson loose and got him open behind the Warren Hills secondary to haul in three Tim Lurz passes for touchdowns, including the game-winner with 6:47 to play as North Warren opened its season with a 21-14 victory over the Blue Streaks.
Johnson played tight end last year, as Kyle Driscoll was the featured receiver when the Patriots went to the air.
Johnson finished with four catches for 108 yards, including scoring grabs of 47 and 45 yards from Lurz as North Warren took a 14-0 halftime lead. But Warren Hills, which came up about six yards short of scoring near the end of the half, abandoned its pass-happy attack of the first 24 minutes and went with toss plays to the tailback which worked effectively against the Patriot defense.
On their first possession of the third quarter, the Streaks marched 73 yards in eight plays, all on the ground, climaxing the march when Kevin Bundschuh took a toss left, broke a couple of tackles and motored the final 36 yards down the sideline.
The next time Warren Hills got the ball, Travis Hepworth took over the tailback duties and carried seven straight times to the North Warren 7. On the next play, he lined up to the right and caught a Zach Martin flat pass for the tying score on the first play of the fourth quarter.
Following Johnson's third score, Warren Hills drove again, reaching the North Warren 27. But on the next snap, sophomore defensive back Trent Simmons jarred the ball loose from Bundschuh and North Warren recovered with 1:49 to play and ran out the clock.