Jeff Kaley
MAYSVILLE — Waurika finally found some ways to score Friday night, but the Eagles’ problem was: Maysville found several more.
Although Gil Griffin and Jace Dunn sparked an offense that turned in season-highs in points and total yardage, the Warriors used the run, the pass and two back-breaking returns on fumble recoveries to tag the Eagles, 54-26, in a District A-4 game.
Griffin rushed for a career-high 183 yards and scored three touchdowns, while wingback-turned-quarterback Dunn helped Waurika post its highest point total since a 54-21, season-opening loss at Snyder.
Pressed into service at a position he’d never played because starting quarterback Tyler Fuller was absent, Dunn rushed for 50 yards and passed for 66 more, including a 41-yard scoring toss to Bobby Harris that was WHS’ first TD pass of the season.
Coming off a season-low rushing performance when Waurika was shutout by Elmore City-Pernell in Week Four, and with running mate Levi Henderson hampered by a broken hand that was encased in a cumbersome wrap, senior Griffin pummeled the Warriors with 30 carries that produced touchdowns of 32, 2 and 62 yards.
However, the effort from that pair wasn’t enough to keep Waurika from slipping to 0-5 for the season and 0-4 in A-4. That’s because Maysville countered with several more weapons.
The Warriors (2-3, 2-2) got three touchdown passes from quarterback Jim Bohnstedt, while standout tailback Dillon Donaho, plagued by early-season injuries, was healthy enough to rush for 97 yards and two touchdowns. Donaho’s younger brother, Cody, also scored twice.
“We got ‘Donahoed’ to death — big brother and little brother, they can both run, catch and play defense,” WHS head coach Larry VanBeber said. “The word was that (Maysville) had injury problems and some of their kids might not play, but that didn’t turn out to be the case.
“When they’re healthy, Maysville’s as good as they were last year [when the Warriors were 7-4 and a playoff team].
“I was very pleased with Gil Griffin and Jace Dunn, though. Gil has turned into a football player for us. Levi broke his hand against Elmore City and was all wrapped up and we couldn’t let him carry much. Gil became our workhorse and he did a great job.
“Jace did a great job for only being a quarterback for four days. We only had about 12 plays, most of which were just give the ball to Gil. But Jace jumped in there with both feet and handled the huddle and the position pretty well.”
In fact, Dunn and Griffin combined to help give the Eagles their first lead in a game since the second quarter of the season-opener at Snyder.
A fine kickoff return by Robert Gilmore gave the Eagles’ their first possession at the Maysville 40-yard line, and three plays later, Griffin was in the end zone to cap a 32-yard scoring run. A 2-point conversion run failed, but with less than three minutes gone in the game, WHS had a 6-0 lead.
It quickly dissolved, however, thanks in large part to a pair of fumbles.
First, the Warriors answered Waurika’s TD with a 17-yard scoring pass from Bohnstedt (11-for-18 overall) to Aaron Galaviz, and the first of Aaron Powers’ six extra-point kicks made it 7-6.
Less than a minute later, MHS’ lead rose to 13-6, when a fumble by Henderson was recovered by Lance Wren, who returned the bobble 35 yards for a TD.
Although WHS had only five total penalties, two infractions helped stall their third possession. Pushed back inside the Eagles’ 10-yard line, Dunn fumbled a snap and Cody Donaho recovered for a 5-yard TD.
“We knew we’d have some problems with snaps and handoffs, because we’ve got a center (Cody Atwood) playing there for just the second time and Jace had never had to take snaps or make handoffs, and Levi couldn’t use his left hand,” VanBeber noted. “So, we went from being ahead to giving up 19 points the first six minutes of the first quarter.
“We held up pretty well in the second and third quarters, but in the fourth quarter, everything just fell apart on defense.”
After Bohnstedt tossed a 13-yard TD pass to Galaviz to give MHS a 26-6 halftime lead, Waurika narrowed the gap in the third quarter, when a 2-yard run by Griffin made it 26-12. But the Warriors responded with three straight touchdowns, including a 14-yard scoring run by Dillon Donaho, that gave the hosts a 33-12 lead going into the fourth period.
The elder Donaho followed with a 3-yard TD run early in the final period, before Bohnstedt’s 62-yard touchdown connection with Power jacked MHS’ lead to 47-12.
Griffin broke free on a 62-yard scoring run and a 2-point conversion pass from Dunn to Bobby Harris trimmed the deficit to 47-20. But a weary WHS defense couldn’t keep the Warriors from adding more, as Cody Donaho’s 7-yard TD help built the gap back to 54-20.
In the final two minutes, Dunn’s 41-yard scoring hookup with Harris became WHS’ first TD pass of the campaign.
Griffin also finished with a team-high 11 tackles at linebacker, while Henderson was in on 7. He also intercepted a pass and blocked a kick.
Dunn was credited on 7 tackles, while Dusty Davis was in on 6 tackles and recovered a fumble. William Phillips also had a fumble recovery.
The Eagles get no slack in Week Six, when Ringling comes to town for the 2009 edition of what was once called the “Jefferson County War.” The Blue Devils have made it a one-sided skirmish in recent years, though, having not lost to WHS since the mid-1990s.
Coming off a 40-13 victory over Velma-Alma, in a game most felt would reveal the eventual A-4 champion, the Blue Devils are 4-0 overall and in the district, winning their first four games by an average score of 51.5-9.
“Ringling on film is just as fabulous as their record and reputation,” VanBeber said Saturday. “We’ve watched them on film, and it looks like they’re running against air in the gave with Velma.
“(The Blue Devils) just look great. They look like a team anybody would love to have. Their line is as big and good as any I’ve seen in this class.”
