With 90 points left Jim Ross Field on Friday evening, there was offense in the air.
Warren East produced most of those points, outlasting Monroe County in a 55-35 win to get the Raiders to .500 on the season.
Highlighting the scoring with five touchdown runs, senior running back Thomas Maxey continued to pile on to his already impressive season statistics.
“Every time he gets the ball, we know that he’s going to make a big play or push it through,” sophomore quarterback Nolan Ford said. “We can rely on him, no matter what.”
The Raiders got on the board first with Maxey’s first touchdown run from one yard out, but the PAT kick was blocked, making East’s lead 6-0 with 9:20 to go in the first quarter.
The Falcons (1-5) answered less than two minutes later as Jamison Gearlds took the ensuing kickoff to the Raider 18-yard line to set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Landon Stinson four plays later, giving Monroe a 7-6 advantage.
East took no time in answering the bell, however, as Ford hooked up with Jastin Proctor for a 57-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the second possession. Maxey’s two-point conversion run put the Raiders back on top 14-7 with 7:34 to go in the first quarter.
The Falcons drove all the way to the Raiders’ 23-yard line before their 30-yard field goal was blocked on the ensuing possession. On the very next play, Ford and Proctor hooked up again for a 59-yard touchdown pass to put the Raiders on top 21-7.
“They were manning us up,” Ford said. “We knew that we had the better athletes and could get behind them, so we just took advantage of it and made big plays.”
“[Nolan Ford] continues to get better each and every game,” Warren East head coach Jeff Griffith said. “The game is starting to slow down for him and he’s starting to understand the game plan for each week and the defenses that he is facing, and I think that has been reflected in his play.”
The Raiders ballooned their lead to 28-7 on another touchdown run by Maxey with 11:03 to go in the second quarter, but Gearlds took the ensuing kickoff 79 yards to pull the Falcons back within 28-14.
“We’ve struggled some defensively, but I feel like we played better defensively in that first half than we have been,” Griffith said. “Our kicking game really hurt us. We were up 28-7 and we let them return a kickoff for a touchdown. Until we clean up our kicking game, we’re going to have a hard time beating good teams.”
After Monroe turned the ball over on downs, Maxey broke off the third of his five touchdown runs with a 60-yard scamper, putting the Raiders (3-3) up 34-14 with 5:26 to go in the second quarter.
“Thomas [Maxey] is an outstanding athlete. He is our ‘bell cow’ so to speak,” Griffith said. “I’ve said this before – and Thomas knows this too – but we have an outstanding offensive line that does a really good job. They loaded the box on us tonight, so we threw it deep to get them off of us and that made it easier for us to run.”
The Raiders pitched a shutout in the third quarter, outscoring the Falcons 14-0. Monroe piled on two late touchdowns but could not pose a threat in the second half.
East opens up 4A District 2 play when it hosts Warren Central (0-6) on Thursday, Sept. 27 at Jim Ross Field. The Dragons dropped a 35-20 decision to Central Hardin on Friday evening at home after leading for most of the game, and are still seeking their first win since Oct. 16, 2015, when they beat Warren East 23-12.
Monroe County hosts district rival Metcalfe County next Friday evening.
Warren East 55, Monroe County 35
Warren East 21 13 14 7 – 55
Monroe Co. 7 14 0 14 – 35
