By JASON KING
Leader sportswriter
Complete domination at the line of scrimmage was the key to Carlisle punching its ticket to the 2A state championship game. The Bison blasted East Poinsett County 34-7 in the semifinal round at Fred C. Hardke Field on Friday.
The Bison (13-0) stopped the Warriors (11-1) at the Carlisle 6-yard line on their opening possession, and carried that momentum to the offensive side for a 94-yard scoring drive and never looked back.
Moving the chains did not pose a problem for the Bison, who showed early on that their weight-room program was superior by bullying the Warrior defense at the line for big running holes. Carlisle scored on five of its eight total possessions.
“Last week, I wasn’t real pleased with our offensive line,” Bison coach Scott Waymire said. “I thought we missed some assignments. A lot of that had to do with Gurdon’s D-line, but I wasn’t real pleased.
“We told them that we had to control the line of scrimmage to beat these guys because they’ve got too many runners. I thought we did a tremendous job on defense and just played outstanding.”
Sophomore Deron Ricks came up biggest for the Bison defensively with two strips of EPC quarterback Darius Barnes, including his first at the 10:48 mark of the second quarter that stopped a promising drive for the Warriors at the Carlisle 28-yard line. That led to a 10-play, 72-yard scoring drive that also included the Bison’s only pass of the night, a 12-yard delivery from senior quarterback Zac King to Ricks on third and nine at the EPC 32-yard line to keep the drive going.
Sophomore Braxton Petrus finished the drive on the following play with an 11-yard touchdown run up the middle with 5:19 left in the half to put the Bison up 14-0.
Petrus finished with 135 yards rushing.
“Petrus is a heck of a young man,” Waymire said. “He started playing football as a ninth grader, and he has turned himself into the football player he is now by dedicating himself to the weight room. You couldn’t ask for a better young man than Braxton Petrus.”
Ricks worked his magic again just three plays into EPC’s ensuing drive when he stripped Barnes to give the ball back to the Bison at the Warrior 16 yard line.
“Big strips, big strips,” Waymire said. “He’s a good ball player. He’s a heck of a defensive ball player, and he’s done a tremendous job for us all year. He had an outstanding game for us.”
The Bison went up by three scores to start the second half on a seven-play, 65-yard drive that ended with a 25-yard touchdown scramble by King up the middle of the field at the 8:21 mark of the second quarter. EPC stopped the two-point attempt to keep the score at 20-0.
The Warriors finally got on the scoreboard just before the end of the third quarter with a three-yard run by Barnes with 13 seconds remaining. The score was set up with a pass-interference call on a long throw from Barnes to senior A.J. Turner.
Carlisle safety Chris Hart had already broken up a couple of big pass plays, but was called for hands to give the Warriors a first down at the Bison 26-yard line. The boost did not last long, however, as Petrus dashed 63-yards on first down of Carlisle’s ensuing drive to increase the lead once again, 27-7 following a successful extra-point kick by Deric Herring.
East Poinsett County still had 12 minutes to make up the three scores, but on fourth and two at the Warrior 43-yard line, Carlisle linebacker Jake Caveness busted through the line untouched to take down running back Trevor McDaniel for a two-yard loss and hand possession back to the Bison, again with excellent field position. That led to the final score of the night, an 11-yard keeper by King and extra-point by Herring.
Hart got his revenge for the pass-interference call late in the game when he intercepted Barnes in the end zone on fourth and goal from the Carlisle 21-yard line.
The Bison scored on their first possession with a 12-play, 94-yard drive that ended with a four-yard run by Bo Weddle. Petrus tacked on two more points with his successful conversion run to give Carlisle an early 8-0 lead with 45 seconds left to play in the opening quarter.
Petrus led the Bison with 16 carries for 135 yards and two touchdowns. Weddle added 82 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries while King rushed five times for 51 yards and two scores. Carlisle had 419 total yards.
The Warriors finished with 259 yards, led by Barnes’ 15 carries for 74 yards.
The Bison will play at War Memorial Stadium next Saturday in the 2A state championship game against Strong, which defeated Junction City 23-19 in the other semifinal game on Friday.
“We get a chance to go back,” Waymire said. “And it’s sweet for our kids, sweet for our town, and hopefully, we can win us one.”
