If Maryville was expecting a cupcake Thursday night, the Rebels should have gone to a bakery.
Warren County made sure Maryville didn’t have an easy time in their first-round playoff matchup last night, but the top-ranked team in Class 6A was able to capture a 35-7 victory.
Playing on its home turf, Maryville held a 21-0 lead heading into the fourth quarter and tacked on a couple late TDs to pad the final margin.
Warren County senior RB Rickie King had a monster performance in his final high school game, rushing for 194 yards to lead all players. It was King who plowed his way through Maryville defenders and reached the endzone from 3 yards out late in the fourth quarter to put Warren County on the board.
The Pioneers played with spunk and determination but couldn’t overcome their own mistakes. Warren County threw two interceptions, had a field goal blocked in the second quarter, and lost a fumble.
The Pioneers had a touchdown taken off the board in the third quarter when QB Isaiah Grayson found McCall Turner in the endzone for an apparent 10-yard score. However, officials ruled the scrambling Grayson had crossed the line of scrimmage when he released the pass which negated the TD.
After the penalty, the Pioneers tried a fake FG but the pass was intercepted at the 4-yard line.
Warren County’s tough defense kept the team in the game for the first three quarters. The Pioneers snuffed out two Maryville drives by recovering fumbles inside their own 15-yard line.
Maryville scored twice in the first quarter to snatch a 14-0 lead. Late in the first half, Maryville went for it on fourth down and the Rebels were rewarded with a 3-yard TD to take a 21-0 lead at the half.
It appeared the route might be on to start the third quarter when the Pioneers fumbled near midfield. But Warren County showed tenacity and forced the Rebels to punt.
Following the punt, the Pioneers drove the length of the field thanks in large part to a 52-yard run from King. Warren County had a TD pass taken off the board due to penalty to keep the score 21-0.
Maryville’s hopes of putting the game away were put on hold, thanks once again to an opportunistic Pioneer defense. Jacob Rabideau pounced on a fumble inside the Pioneer 10 to keep Maryville from scoring.
Warren County would push the ball out to the 40, but an interception there would lead to a 6-yard Maryville TD run and a 28-0 score.
Maryville would add its fifth TD midway through the fourth.
The win propels unbeaten Maryville to the second round of the playoffs. Warren County ends its season at 1-10.