WEST POINT, Ala. – The West Point Warriors were back home hosting a region game against Ardmore Friday night and the fourth and final playoff spot in Region 7 was on the line. West Point got out to an early lead and held off a late push from the Tigers in the second half to claim a huge, 25-20 win and clinch a postseason berth.
The Warriors got the ball to start out the game, and the running game got off to a very strong start, as Ollie Howell picked up 20 and 11 yards on back-to-back carries to put West Point at the 27. Two plays later, Ayden Ennis collected 17 yards on a quarterback keeper to give them a first down at the 12. A holding penalty moved them back to the 22, but two plays later, Ennis found Bryant Moon for a 19-yard score to give the Warriors a 6-0 lead with 9:18 remaining in the first quarter. Ardmore didn’t waste any time moving the ball down the field, as they collected 59 yards on the first four plays of their opening drive, and they had the ball at the 14. After collecting another first down on fourth down, West Point’s defense stiffened after that, as Moon picked off a pass on fourth down to give the ball back to West Point.
A pair of big runs by Howell put the Warriors at the 30, but their offense stalled after that, as they fell just short on fourth down. The Tigers took advantage of the great field position, as a 20-yard touchdown pass gave them a 7-6 lead early in the second quarter. West Point continued to pound the ball with Howell and Titan Thornton on their next drive. Thornton’s 19-yard run moved them past midfield to the 35, then two plays later, a four-pass from Ennis to Moon gave the Warriors another first down at the 25. Back-to-back runs by Howell put them at the six, and Ennis kept it himself and scored on the next play to give West Point a 12-7 lead with 5:22 remaining in the first half.
An Ardmore punt gave the ball back to the Warriors, and another Howell run gave them a first down at the 46. Three plays later, Howell broke free for a 21-yard run, as that put the ball at the 24. On the next play, Ennis threw the ball to Teagan Heaton, who despite having multiple Tiger defenders around him, was still able to make the catch in the end zone, as that stretched West Point’s lead to 19-7 late in the first half. Ardmore was forced to punt again, but a fumble by the Warriors on the punt return was recovered by the Tigers. West Point kept Ardmore out of the end zone to end the first half, and the Warriors would take a 19-7 lead into the locker room.
There were some fireworks to start out the second half for both teams. The Tigers took the opening kickoff 85 yards to the house to cut it to 19-14. West Point had a quick answer of their own on its opening drive, as on the first play, Howell found a big hole on the right side and ended up scoring on a 55-yard run to put them ahead, 25-14. A turnover-on-downs gave the ball back to the Warriors, but West Point was forced to punt on its next possession. A big gain, followed by a penalty on the Warriors, quickly put Ardmore at the 21, and three plays later, they scored on a three-yard run to make it a 25-20 game.
Back-to-back punts gave the ball to West Point, and after collecting a first down, they quickly went backwards after that, and they were forced to punt. Some key first downs by the Tigers helped keep their drive alive, and a 12-yard run on first down gave them another first down at the 31. The Warrior defense stood tall after that, though, as they forced Ardmore to turn the ball over on downs. They got the ball back with a little over five minutes to go in the game. One of the biggest plays of the game came on third down, as Ennis kept it himself and picked up 24 yards to give West Point a first down at the 46. Later on that drive, they were faced with another huge third down, but Ennis found Moon on a 30-yard screen pass to keep their drive alive. Howell got another first down on the next play to help finish off their 25-20 win over the Tigers.
Howell finished with 235 yards on 28 carries and a touchdown for the Warriors. Ennis finished 7/9 for 102 yards and a pair of touchdowns and added a touchdown on the ground as well. Moon ended up with four receptions for 59 yards and a touchdown. Heaton added a 24-yard touchdown reception.
West Point (5-4) will finish the regular season at home against Brewer next Thursday night.
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