Warriors dominate Avery Trace in 48-12 win

Playing twice in four days did not seem to slow down the White County Middle School Warriors.

White County scored early and often Thursday night, building a 42-6 halftime lead before finishing off a 48-12 win over Avery Trace. It was the Warriors' second victory of the week after defeating Algood 47-6 Monday night in a game that had been rescheduled because of weather.

For head coach Aaron Brown, the way his team handled the unusual week was just as important as the final score.

“Super proud of the boys,” Brown said. “That was a very hard thing to do mentally, playing two games in one week. The game was as dominant as we have looked this season.”

The Warriors did much of their damage in the first half without needing to dig very deep into the playbook. Brown said White County ran the same play 15 consecutive times as Avery Trace struggled to find an answer.

A big part of that success has been the continued development of quarterback Eston Humphrey, who Brown said is becoming increasingly comfortable running the offense and making the reads it requires.

“Our offense is built to make teams make mistakes and us capitalize on that,” Brown said. “However, that doesn’t work if the QB can’t make the reads and do what needs to be done.”

It also helps when the guys in front are winning at the line of scrimmage.

Brown credited Brayden Walloch, Tanner Steele, Tristan Will, Caleb Steele and Weston Davidson for controlling the game on both sides of the ball. Through the season, the group has combined for 25 pancake blocks.

Those pancakes come with a little extra incentive. Brown makes his linemen actual pancakes for every one they record.

Their work up front has also opened things up for running back Julian Seely, who Brown said has done a tremendous job trusting his blockers and finding the running lanes they create.

That leaves opposing defenses with a decision.

“Deal with the QB or deal with the RB,” Brown said. “When they try to do both, the receivers make them pay.”

Brown has plenty of confidence in that group as well. Maddox Groce, Sam Carpenter, Darius Jackson and Silas Vandergriff give Humphrey multiple options when the Warriors put the ball in the air.

“The group is as talented as any group I have had here,” Brown said. “We could easily go four wide and throw it all over the place and feel very confident they can all score when they touch it.”

White County's defense has been just as difficult to deal with. Brown asks his players to handle multiple looks and responsibilities, something he said he can do because of his confidence in their ability to understand them. So far, the Warriors have surrendered only a handful of explosive plays.

After wins of 47-6 and 48-12 in a span of four days, Brown believes the Warriors are continuing to move in the right direction.

“This group is getting better each week and it’s been fun to see them really take pride in that,” Brown said. “We still have a lot of season left, but this group has a chance to be special if they stay focused and don’t lose sight of where we want to be.”