By Josh Beavers
A long touchdown pass and a pick-6 on the opening drives of the game propelled the 5A West Ouachita Chiefs to a 47-7 victory over the visiting 2A Lakeside Warriors Friday night at A.R. Red Sims Stadium.
Lakeside senior Kris Redden registered a sack while the score was still 0-0, and the crowd that traveled over from Sibley thought something special might be in the works.
Those hopes were dashed a couple plays later when Chiefs quarterback Mason Cobb lobbed a 46-yard touchdown pass to senior Mike Hall.
Trailing 7-0, Lakeside faced a long conversion attempt. The Warrior quarterback’s pass went high and into the hands of Chiefs’ safety Corey Totson, who returned the interception 46 yards for a score and a 14-0 lead with 8:47 to play in the opening quarter.
Lakeside’s Cade Boley caught a 13-yard pass on the next Warrior drive, but a penalty made a fourth down try too risky. Instead, Lakeside elected to punt, and the Chiefs answered. Several short runs set up a long play-action pass from Cobb to senior Chief receiver Chase White. The ground covered was 45 yards and the result was a touchdown.
The Warriors got on the board thanks to a C.J. Watt fumble recovery in the endzone. Before that lone Warrior score, Koby Mangrum forced a fumble and Cade Boley recovered. A 40-yard pass to Taurio Grigsby was nullified due to a penalty.
Despite the final score, the Warriors never stopped fighting.
C.J. Watt came in at quarterback and completed 5 of 10 passes for 50 yards. He also registered several tackles. Other Warriors with solid defensive play included Koby Mangrum, Ty Manness, Kevin Johnson and Jaden Miller.
Ultimately it was penalties and the big play that killed the Warriors. As the game wore on, the Chiefs’ depth and size ate away at the visitors.
With a 27-7 lead, the Chiefs opened the third quarter with a 60-yard touchdown pass off play action that was set up by short, bruising runs.
That gave the Chiefs a 34-7 lead that they added to as the game wore on.
Next up for Lakeside (2-1) is another long road trip. Week 5 will see the Warriors playing north of Bastrop against Beekman Charter.
