Andy Close
WARREN, Pa. – On a night when Warren football honored legendary football coach Toby Shea, the Dragons turned in a performance that would have made him proud in a 26-14 win over Harbor Creek on Saturday.
Sophomore quarterback Eric Dippold threw for three first-half touchdowns and Tommy Nyquist had 117 yards on the ground, including the game-clinching 35-yard score with 1:35 to go in the fourth quarter.
The Dragons (2-0) never trailed in the game, getting the scoring going right away as Dippold connected with Ben White on a 21-yard touchdown pass just over a minute into the game. It was the third time in two games the duo have hooked up on scoring plays. It came on the heels of a successful fake punt attempt that saw Carter Pascuzzi connect with Ethan Senz for 23 yards.
Cam Williamson had 121 yards on the ground for the Huskies, but the Dragons won the battle of total yards, 389-194.
A big part of that was the Dragon front seven, led by Alan McAllister and Easton Hultberg, as well as Kody Vega and Nick Penucci from their linebacker spots. McAllister earned Allegheny Grille of Foxburg Player of the Game honors and talked about the win afterward along with White:
Dippold continued his hot start through the air, connecting with Cayden Wright on a 23-yard touchdown, with Wright making a one-handed snag at the 10:06 mark of the second quarter to make it 12-0.
Each team scored in the final 2:05, as Gavin Ennis stepped in front of Dippold’s pass on third down and scampered in from 10 yards out to get the Huskies on the board.
Dippold shook off the mistake, completing a pair of long passes, the second of which went to a wide-open Nyquist from 22 yards out to give Warren an 18-7 lead at halftime.
The Huskies (1-1) turned to the ground game on their opening drive of the third quarter, as Williamson did much of the heavy lifting, ultimately punching it in from 12 yards out to cut the margin to 18-14.
Harbor Creek got the ball back with a chance to take the lead late in the third quarter, went three-and-out and a bad snap on the punt attempt resulted in a safety that put Warren ahead 20-14.
Warren’s defense stood tall in the fourth quarter, and Nyquist eventually salted the game away, with his late touchdown run.
Nyquist finished with 117 yards on the ground and 38 receiving, while Dippold was 9-of-13 through the air for 194 yards, 88 of which went to White and 65 to Wright.
Charlton was 5-of-9 passing for 39 yards for the Huskies.
Re-watch the game:
