Winton Woods 25, Lakota East 20

One year has passed since the Winton Woods Warriors and Lakota East Thunderhawks clashed in a game that ended in a Lakota East victory after four series of overtime.

Expectations for this season’s matchup were no different. The Thunderhawks came into Friday night with a 1-0 record after a Week 1 victory against Western Hills. The Warriors came into the night with a 0-1 record after a tough loss to Wayne, but they were on a mission to spoil Lakota East’s perfect season.

The excitement reached its peak in the fourth quarter, when Winton Wood held a lead of 25-14 with just under 5 minutes to play. The Lakota East offense, lead by junior quarterback Eric Eichler, orchestrated a phenomenal late-game drive that resulted in senior running back Will Mahone’s third rushing touchdown of the contest, this time on a four-yard scamper with 1:34 remaining in the game and all three timeouts. The Warrior’s two-point conversion attempt was unsuccessful, making the score 25-20. The Thunderhawks knew they needed to recover an onside kick to have a chance at winning the game, and they did just that. Unfortunately for Lakota East, their luck ran out as a fourth down pass attempt fell harmlessly to the turf, giving possession back to Winton Woods to allow them to run out the remainder of the clock.

Both teams featured offenses that relied on the triple option for success. Winton Woods’ junior quarterback Shemar Hooks orchestrated the game plan beautifully, while rushing for 76 yards on 17 carries himself, including a four-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. Junior fullback Jalen Davis accounted for 57 yards on the ground on 11 carries, while senior halfback Nick Grissom rushed six times for 51 yards, and two second half touchdowns to put the Warriors in position to win.

Lakota East also had a productive night on the ground, lead by Mahone’s 133 yards rushing and three touchdowns, his second consecutive 100+ yard, three touchdown game. Eichler picked up 73 rushing yards himself on 19 carries.

Defensively for Winton Woods, sophomore linebacker David Long and junior defensive back Mike Edwards were the leaders of the unit. Long recorded eight solo tackles and one assisted tackle, one sack, and two tackles for loss. Edwards also had eight tackles.