The Warriors of Nanih Waiya had to fight for their 41-20 win over homestanding Smithville on Friday night and NW head coach James Courtney was glad to see it.
“It was a good test for us, especially early (in the game),” Courtney said “We knew Smithville would play us hard. Anytime you face stiff competition it is going to help you in the future.”
While Courtney wasn’t so pleased with his team’s pass defense, the Warriors only gave up 13 rushing yards for the game.
“We were able to dominate up front on both sides of the ball,” he said. “We have to get better in the pass (defense) game. We are still giving up the deep ball. We are going to see more of that in the playoffs.”
This week the Warriors, who have officially clinched a No. 1 seed for the MHSAA Class 1A State Football Playoffs that will begin on Nov. 15, close out the regular season at home against Okolona, a team that Courtney says will present his team with a challenge.
“All we have to do is watch the film and they (Warriors) will understand that they (Okolona) are a more athletic team than us,” he said. “They can fall out run. We need to play well.”
Nanih Waiya fell behind 14-12 after one quarter of play against Smithville, giving up touchdown passes of 60 and 15 yards in the process. The Warriors made a defensive adjustment, moving from an even front to and odd front, which helped cut down on Smithville’s throwing prowess. “It gave us an extra man in coverage, and our kids were also more focused after the first quarter,” Courtney said.
After trailing by two points after one quarter of play, the Warriors reeled off the next 28 points before Smithville added a late score.
Nanih Waiya scored first in the game when Tylan Glass blocked a punt and returned it 36 yards for the score.
After Smithville went up 7-6, Shia Moore put the Warriors back on top 12-7 with a 13-yard run. The Seminoles scored again to lead 14-12 after one quarter. The second quarter saw Moore score on a 16-yard run, while Donovan Turner score on a 10-yard run and also ran in a pair of two-point conversions to put the winners up 28-14 at the half.
Turner scored on a 7-yard run in the third quarter for NW, while Moore closed out the scoring for the Warriors with a 16-yard jaunt in the fourth quarter.
Moore rushed for 140 yards on 18 carries on the night, while Turner had 122 rushing yards on 16 carries and hit on 6-of-13 passes for 55 yards. Devean Turner had 11 carries for 92 yards for the winners.
Ked More, Shia Moore and Taylor Higginbotham were in on five tackles each for the Warriors.
