Warren East overcame five first-half turnovers to beat Warren Central 28-0 on Thursday evening at Jim Ross Field.
Thomas Maxey and Nolan Ford accounted for all 357 yards of offense – all on the ground – for the Raiders (4-3) as Maxey rushed for 299 yards and two touchdowns on 29 carries while Ford ran for 58 yards and two more scores on nine carries.
East’s offense sputtered out to a 14-0 lead in the first half, but the game seemed much closer than the score indiacated as both teams combined for seven turnovers in the first 24 minutes, five by the Raiders alone.
After both teams traded possessions to start the game, two big runs by Maxey and an 18-yard quarterback keeper by Ford set Ford up for a 7-yard touchdown run to give East a 7-0 lead.
On the ensuing Raider possession, Central’s Jamale Barber returned an interception 73 yards for a touchdown only to have the score wiped off of the board by a block in the back penalty. The Dragons (0-7) gave the ball right back just moments later as East’s EJ Smith came down with an interception at the Central 46-yard line.
Both teams traded fumbles to open up the second quarter, giving East the ball at Central’s 32-yard line. On the ensuing play, Maxey rumbled 33 yards for his first of two scores to give the Raiders a 14-0 lead with 11:39 to go in the first half.
The Dragons found themselves quickly on the Raider 1-yard line after a 42 yard run by Junius Carpenter on a busted play, but the Raider defense pushed the Dragons all the way back to the 14-yard line before a bad snap turned the ball over on downs at the East 27.
Following another red-zone stop, the Raiders drove 92 yards on their first drive of the second half to set up a one-yard touchdown run by Maxey, expanding East’s lead to 21-0 with 3:47 to go in the third quarter.
The Raiders added insurance points with 4:01 left in the game as Ford again found the end zone from five yards out.
Central totaled 218 yards of offense on the evening, 157 through the air and 61 on the ground. Quarterback Xavier Ingram completed 17-of-42 pass attempts for 157 yards and two interceptions while Carpenter rushed for 42 yards on 18 carries.
The Raiders were not able to come up with any passing yards as Ford completed 2-of-8 passes for 0 yards and two interceptions. However, East’s defense stopped all five red-zone trips that the Dragons made.
The Dragons will return home to host Franklin-Simpson on Oct. 12 while the Raiders will hit the road to take on Allen County-Scottsville on the same date. Both teams will be off next week as Warren County Public Schools will be on Fall Break.
Warren East 28, Warren Central 0
1st Quarter
WE – Nolan Ford 7-yard run (7-0; 7:58)
2nd Quarter
WE – Thomas Maxey 33-yard run (14-0; 11:36)
3rd Quarter
WE – Maxey 1-yard run (21-0; 3:47)
4th Quarter
WE – Ford 5-yard run (28-0; 4:01)
Clay Manlove; @ctmanlove58
