WARRIORS 10-0, TOP SEED IN PLAYOFFS

Lima has accomplished their first perfect regular season with their win over the Motor City Soldiers.

By Joel Renner

Lima Warriors Chief Staff Reporter

8/2/07 – LIMA, OH -- Lima started comfortably and appeared in control.  By the end, the top-ranked Warriors claimed their first undefeated regular season, fourth straight division title and a No. 1 seed heading into the playoffs of the United States Football Alliance.

“It feels great and these guys deserve it.  The players, coaching staff, organization and everybody involved with the Lima Warriors deserve every bit of it.”  Warriors coach John Parkins said Saturday after his team built a 31-point halftime lead and hung on to beat tough and stubborn Motor City 47-0.

“I told the guys in the post-game speech that if they continue to play like they did, that there is nobody in this league that can beat them,” Parkins said while sporting a soaked shirt after receiving an ice bath in the celebration.

The Warriors (10-0, 9-0 USFA) had won each of their first nine games by at least 25 points with the exception of the 9-7 victory over the Cleveland Lions.  The Lions helped the Warriors case as the No.1 team in the Midwest in their 27-7 win over the West Michigan Force last week who are a highly-ranked team in the latest Minor League Football News poll.

Wayne LeGrant’s 20-yard interception for a TD with 11:42 left in the game extended Lima’s lead to 47 points and time was running out for a Motor City comeback.

“We had some mental mistakes in the first half where we could have put more points on the board, but to beat a team 47-0 that was 8-1 is unbelievable,” Parkins said.

A wild play that could have led to more points happened in the second quarter as Bobby Huttis intercepted a Willie Taylor pass and then lateralled the ball to his brother Brandt Huttis, who scampered up the sideline and was nearly tackled by a pack of soldiers, but emerged untouched out of a crowd and dashed up the middle of the field and before being tackled, fumbled the ball on a lateral around the 40-yard line where the Soldiers (8-2) recovered.  The referees later threw a flag on an illegal forward lateral by Bobby Huttis during the blooper-like play.

Motor City didn’t play like a team that had won eight games.  The Warriors clamped down on the Soldiers’ running game and did a stellar job of containing Taylor.  The athletic quarterback threw for 65 yards while the Soldiers’ rushing game only accumulated nine yards.  Justin Henderson on the other hand acted like an all-star contender as he competed 8 of 17 passes and threw for three touchdowns.  He also threw for 116 yards.

Lima had a 269-74 advantage in total yards and held Motor City to its fewest points and poorest performance this season.

“We played a very sloppy game the first time we played them and they were coming in thinking that we were overrated,” Henderson said.  “They were on a high horse after they thought we had a poor offensive game when we went up to Detroit.”

A short TD run by Dion Pearson as well as long TD receptions by Bobby Huttis, Joe Butcher and Kaene Runion and a 25-yard field goal by Ryan Elliot gave the Warriors a halftime lead.

The Warriors’ players are proud to be associated with this team and have not forgotten about past players and want to share this victory with everybody.

“This win was for Brock Hartman, Davey Settlemire, all of the Warriors alumni, fans and the city of Lima,” defensive end Adam Gill said.

Leading 14-0, the Warriors started a drive in Motor City territory for the first time all game in the second quarter.  Henderson showed the ability throughout the game to capitalize off of both short and long field position.

The Warriors defense helped out the offense tremendously by snatching six interceptions for the second week in a row and allowing the Warriors to start drives in Motor City territory 4 of 5 times in the second half.  Troy Williamson, Bobby Huttis, Derrick Santos, Wayne LeGrant each had an interception while Dustin Hunt grabbed two.  A short drive after an interception ended in a five-yard TD run by Chris Brooks with 8:30 left in the third quarter that made the score 39-0.

Derrick Santos made a one-handed interception in the third quarter as Motor City was moving the ball and was one of many high-caliber glimpses of talent where those in attendance might have felt they were watching NFL players instead of Semi-Pro.  That interception was topped only by LeGrant’s interception return for a TD to end the scoring.

James Henderson and Kaene Runion replaced Warriors’ veteran quarterback Justin Henderson, who shined against a Motor City defense that allowed few points this season, in the second half.

Justin Henderson got the Warriors rolling early by marching his team 67 yards in six plays and culminating it by airing the ball over the Soldiers’ secondary to find a streaking Bobby Huttis in the end zone for a 7-0 lead at only 11:40 in the first quarter.

Henderson threw an equally impressive pass at 7:15 in the second quarter by throwing a 10-yard dart as Joe Butcher caught the ball inches off the ground for a spectacular TD and gave the Warriors a 14-0 lead.

Motor City came into the game with high expectations, but couldn’t pull off what would have been the biggest upset in the USFA this season.  If Lima stays on track and plays in the Sept. 8 championship game in Lima, the winner of the USFA finale would play for the Semi-pro national title at Homestead, Florida in January.

The only other undefeated team in the league, Beaver County, stomped their opponent at home last Saturday, by beating Western Pennsylvania 59-19.  The potential matchup has many fans intrigued for a spectacular USFA championship.

Myron Gregory carried six times for 35 yards and Jeremy Bott carried five times for 30 yards as the Warriors took their third drive and moved methodically behind their balanced attack 63 yards on six plays.  It looked like it would be an easy day when Dion Pearson bulled into the end zone from the 1.

The Warriors defense buckled down in the game, especially against the running attack, which only could manage five first downs in the game.  Ty Carpenter led the defense with one sack, four tackles –four for loss- and the Warriors tallied seven turnovers in the game.

A pre-game ceremony was one of the highlights of the evening as former president Brock Hartman’s No. 75 was retired and a thunderous applause followed by tears of joy from Hartman and congratulations from Warriors’ players was a touching moment.