Warden's furious rally falls short

Cougars nearly pull off 26-point comeback

WARDEN - Trailing 32-6 in the second quarter to the visiting White Swan Cougars, the Warden Cougars rallied with three touchdowns to get within six points of tying the game, but a turnover deep in White Swan territory on their final possession ended any hopes of a miraculous comeback as Warden fell 32-26 to White Swan on Friday.

"It was a great, valiant effort," Warden head coach Erik Skone said. "We brought it. We had our chance to win."

Warden drove down the field and scored when Josh Reyes recovered a fumble in the end zone with 5:12 to play to make the score 32-26. The scoring drive, which started at midfield, was keyed by Nathan Brown's two spectacular catches for a combined 45 yards, one made in double coverage on a fly pattern down the left sideline, and the second a diving grab on a deep out that gave Warden first-and-goal inside the 5-yard line.

Needing the ball back in a hurry after the Reyes touchdown recovery, the Warden defense responded with a three-and-out on White Swan's ensuing possession. Tony Martinez sacked the White Swan quarterback on first down, Ben Bisnett had a tackle for a 6-yard loss on second down, and Reyes broke up a pass on third down to force fourth-and-22 and a punt.

Warden took over just short of midfield, and got a first down in White Swan territory after a pass interference call. From there, Arturo Martinez broke a big run down to the 14-yard line to give Warden a first down in the red zone with 1:44 to go in the contest.

Martinez carried the ball inside the 10 on the next play, but was stood up in a pile of White Swan defenders and had the ball stripped. White Swan recovered the fumble and was able to run out the final 1:28 for the victory.

"There were mistakes all over the place, it wasn't just that one," Skone said of Martinez's fumble.

In fact, were it not for Martinez, Warden would have been in no position to even threaten victory over White Swan. The Cougars' senior running back accounted for 260 of Warden's 341 total yards from scrimmage, including an eye-popping 246 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries.

"It seemed like he broke a tackle on every play, if not two," Skone said of Martinez, who averaged 11.2 yards per carry on the night.

After allowing White Swan to score touchdowns on its first three possessions to fall behind 24-0, Warden slowed White Swan's momentum, began to figure out its opponent's deceptive Wing-T offense, and started making plays on both sides of the ball.

"We couldn't find the ball," Skone said of his defense early in the game. "We were lost."

Down 32-6 and with White Swan driving for another touchdown late in the second quarter, Warden's Scott Phillips turned the tide of the game when he sacked White Swan quarterback Taylor Strom. Not only did Phillips back White Swan up from the 8 to the 19-yard line with the tackle, he knocked Strom out of the game with the big hit.

Two plays later, on fourth-and-goal from the 19, Phillips stepped in front of a White Swan receiver running a post route to intercept the ball and return it 81 yards for the touchdown. The big defensive play made the score 32-13 with 1:16 to play, and Warden went to the halftime break with a bit of momentum after a tough start to the game.

"The kid has got heart," Skone said of the senior Phillips. "He plays on about every down. He brings an effort every play."

Warden carried the momentum into the second half, riding the swift legs of Arturo Martinez to their third score of the game. Martinez delivered a pair of big runs to get Warden out of a second-and-17 situation and up to a first down at the 44-yard line. After a short completion to Brown that moved the ball to the 48, Martinez carried the ball straight up the middle, displaying a series of great moves to split the White Swan safeties and dash 52 yards for the touchdown.

Down 32-20, Warden's defense again stepped up, with Phillips leading the way. The Cougars broke through the White Swan line and smothered the quarterback, forcing a fumble that Phillips fell on at midfield.

Warden recovered, but its next possession was a costly one. Driving in White Swan territory, Warden senior and team leader Drew Jesse suffered a leg injury on a carry around the left side. Jesse was taken from the field by ambulance for medical attention, but not before saluting the hometown crowd as he was lifted into the ambulance.

With the loss, Warden falls to 1-2 on the season. The Cougars continue South Central Athletic Conference play this Friday at winless Wahluke, with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m.