Pocahontas County Middle School Warriors seized 248 total offensive yards to cage the Glade Bulldogs and exit their 2010 football season in a blaze of glory.

It seemed old man winter made an early appearance, handing out shivers and chills to the anxious players and fans. Yet, the cold did little to dampen the hearty crowd's spirit and would later prove to only fuel the Warrior's fire.

Glade began with first possession and quickly fumbled. LB Cary Robertson, ready and waiting, snatched the ball and made several run attempts for the Warriors. Bulldogs intercepted and Nose Guard Dalton Irvine, LB Stephen Simmons and Robertson kept Glade's offense contained. Irvine continued to pound Glade, ending the game with eight mighty tackles.

With the help of Center Nash Rose and his offensive line, Robertson ran in the the first Warrior TD and followed it up with a successful conversion. LB Logan Mann, DE Chase Erlewine and DT Chad Burns squashed the Bulldog's advance attempts and with 43 seconds left in the first quarter Robertson rushed 27 yards for the second Warrior TD. At the end of the first quarter, Warriors led the Bulldogs 14 - 0.

Rose helped ward off Glade with four tackles and Mann aggresively led the defense with nine.
To the Bulldog's dismay, the second quarter mirrored the first. Two Bulldog fumbles, the first recovered by Burns and a second recovered by Simmons who ran it for 45 yards did not forecast a Glade comeback. Hopes were further dashed when Robertson dashed 35 yards to the end zone finding the third Warrior TD, followed by a good two-point conversion. Adding insult to injury, Robertson found the end zone once more by rushing another 30 yards and teammate Simmons brought in the extra two points. Warrior defense led by Corner Zack Young and Jimmy Campbell kept the Bulldogs at bay. At the half, Warriors were over the Bulldogs 30 - 0.

Burns, an anchor on the offensive line finished the game with a fumble recovery, and four tackles. Simmons rushed 29 yards on four carries, a PAT and helped the defense with seven tackles. Young, a leader on the defensive effort delivered eight hefty tackles.

After the half, the Bulldogs found some glory in the third quarter and managed 16 points against the Warriors. Tyler Owens, Ryan Dilley, QB Braxton Rider and Caleb Bennett prevented any further points and at the start of the final quarter the Bulldogs trailed the Warriors by 14.
Owens, a big help to his defense, ended the game with six tackles. Dilley gave three and Rider and Bennett had one each.

Cory Duncan, helped out by Jordan Greathouse, Shane Alderman and Jesse Coy, leashed the Bulldog's offense in the final quarter allowing Robertson to have fans on their feet as he darted 68 yards into Glade's end zone for yet another Warrior TD. The Bulldogs regained the ball only to fumble. Erlewine was quick to recover, gifting Warriors the ball and Trey Walton ran 15 yards for the sixth and final Warrior TD. Warriors claimed victory, 42 - 16, and wrapped up an impressive 5 - 3 season.

Duncan, a Warrior newcomer, gave the Bulldogs a challenge with four tackles. Alderman delivered two and Greathouse and Coy helped out with one each. Erlewine, a fixture on the offensive line, offered a fumble recovery and four tackles. Robertson rushed an impressive 199 yards, 11 carries, five TDs, two PATs, a fumble recovery, a 20 yard punt return, a 23 yard kick off return and gave the defense eight tackles. Walton rushed 22 yards, four carries, one TD and three tackles.
" I am proud of all our boys" raved Defensive Coordinator Damian Elliot."I feel like they all put in the effort neccessary to have a successful season."

"We finished the season on a high note last Thursday at Glade," Head Coach Doug Burns said.
"The guys came out and took care of business in all phases of the game. Our offensive line did a real good job of opening up running lanes and our backs were able to capitalize on the opportunities. Defensively, we played well and were able to contain their speed. They had a couple of players who were suspended for this game and we were able to take advantage of a few things that we weren't able to do in our first meeting."
"Overall, this season was a successful one. These players deserve all the credit. They worked hard from day one and we had some great eighth grade leadership. This has been a great bunch of guys to work with. They never point fingers when things go wrong, they just pick each other up and encourage each other to do better the next play. If this eighth grade class stays together and continues to work, they will be a good addition to the high school talent that's already in place. We also had a good group of seventh graders who will be very instrumental in the success of next year's middle school team. Hopefully, there will be more guys who want to be a part of this program next year, guys who, someday, want to run onto Warrior field on Friday nights wearing the maroon and gold."

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