WARRIORS PATRIOTS SQUARE OFF

Lima travels to Cincinnati to battle with the Southern Ohio Patriots for what could determine home field advantage in the playoffs.

By Joel Renner

Lima Warriors Chief Staff Reporter

7/11/07 – LIMA, OH -- In a television series-like season full of drama, every week seems to provide drama with a tough match-up against Lima and another solid team aiming to knock off the undefeated Warriors.
 

Well, the plot just thickened.
 

The MLFN poll says Lima is the No. 1 team in the Midwest.  The game that was supposed to be part of a light schedule over the next month in visiting Southern Ohio on Saturday has turned into a serious match-up with heavy first round bye implications on the line.
 

Also, with the announcement this week by U.S.F.A. Commissioner Danial Marshall that the Western Football Conference champions will host the league championship game, the Warriors hope to stay in Lima for the playoffs.  The championship game site will alternate yearly between the two conferences.

Lima should be heavily favored in its last three games, beginning with this contest against the Patriots, who recently edged a quality opponent in Akron 21-20.

After that, Lima plays Delphos and Motor City, teams with a combined record of 6-6.

If the Warriors (7-0, 6-0 USFA) emerge unbeaten from what appears to be a relatively easy stretch, they’ll be set heading into the playoffs with a first round bye and will then play on Aug. 18 at home.

But that’s four weeks away and Lima has to be careful not to misstep, even though the motivation may not be as high for a team that hasn’t been challenged much this season and had a strong grip on the top spot in the first MLFN standings released last week.

“The Warriors need to keep on doing what we do, win,” said Warriors Vice President Devon Jones. “Then everyone in the playoffs comes to Lima.  Rankings mean nothing until the end of the season.”

It’s hard for the Warriors not to look ahead.  They’ve outscored their seven opponents 289-33.  The defense – with a few new starters – hasn’t allowed more than 20 points in any game and has held teams to an average of 4.7 points per contest, first in the league.

“We have Southern Ohio this week,” said lineman John Lance.  “It’s 5-1 against 7-0. We’ll step up our game and take care of business.”

And if more motivation was needed, the news about injured defensive back Yansey Donald reached the team.  Donald will miss the remainder of the season after he tore his ACL and Meniscus and broke a bone in his ankle on a return against the Northwest Ohio Raiders on July 7.  Donald is the second Warrior to suffer a season-ending injury.  Running back Zach Weber suffered a knee injury and the Warriors will be fueled by the absence of their teammates.

With quarterback Justin Henderson spearheading an offense that is averaging 361 yards per game and averages 41 points per game, it’s going to be hard for teams to outscore the Warriors, particularly with the defense playing top-notch as usual.

“We don’t overlook anyone,” wide receiver Bobby Huttis said. "We understand that any team can beat another team on any given day. We just go out and take care of business each week no matter who we are set to play.”

While Lima has won 11 straight regular season games heading into the matchup with Southern Ohio (5-1), the Warriors should be more cautious than usual against the Patriots, who are coming off the one of the program’s biggest wins in it’s two year existence.

Southern Ohio upset then- No. 2 in the WFC Akron 21-20 last Saturday, its second win over a quality opponent after beating then- No. 6 West Virginia 10-6 in Cincinnati two weeks ago.

This will be the first ever game between the two squads and Saturday at Anderson High School in Cincinnati is set up to be the site of a game not to disappoint the fans of either team.

“The Patriots don't roll over from anyone,” Patriots offensive lineman Ron Newman said.  “We came back from being 14 points down at half to win a game that we weren't even given a chance in.”

However confident Southern Ohio may be, the Warriors are much tougher than Akron.  Lima beat the Jagz 28-0 in Lima on June 9.

The Warriors beat the Crash 49-20 last Saturday, extending their regular-season winning streak to 11 games.

For the second week in a row, the Warriors’ offense, defense and special teams all scored.  After a bad snap on a punt, Derrick Santos scored for his second TD of the season and is helping to lead the Warriors’ special teams.

For the first time all year, the Warriors had two receivers with 100 or more yards.  Kaene Runion led the team with 119 yards and Joe Butcher followed with 100 yards as Lima cruised to its six straight conference victory.

After edging out a 10-6 win against West Virginia two weeks ago, Southern Ohio squeaked out an even closer win to beat the Jagz.

Rick Staley found Dame Cogar and Glen Robinson in the end zone for touchdowns to lead the Patriots.  Linebacker Dumorris Powell also returned a fumble for a touchdown and kicker Guido Fellers was good on three PAT attempts.

Despite Lima’s gaudy regular-season record in the last six years, the Patriots seem to be brimming with confidence after the upset of Akron.  The Warriors and Patriots were not named the U.S.F.A. Game Of The Week, but the Warriors will play like it is.

“Every week is the game of the week in our minds,” Lance said.

Southern Ohio needs the victory and Lima to lose an additional game to attain home field advantage in the playoffs, but its next two opponents have a combined record of 11-3.

Coach Parkins looks to add to his all-time record of 55-13.