Junior Warriors battle Cross County to 22-22 tie

The Junior Warriors battled Cross County to a 22-22 tie at Cherry Valley last week in junior high football.

"It went back and forth," said coach Brian Weathers. "Both teams seemed to be pretty even."

Cross County scored first with 1:04 remaining in the first quarter on a 29-yard run and ran it in for the two point conversion to take an 8-0 lead.

The Junior warriors answered back scoring on a 5-yard run by Christ Bly with 2:44 left to play in the second quarter. Bly ran it in for the two point conversion to knot it at 8-8.

The Thunderbirds though would grab a 14-8 lead at halftime on a 2-yard touchdown run with :26 seconds remaining.

EPC (1-1-1) came back and tied 14-14 it on a 7-yard run by Caleb Harston but missed the extra point with 4:42 to play in the third.

Cross County got one back on its next possession on a 14-yard run and passed the ball into the end zone for the 2-point conversion to take a 22-14 lead.

The Thunderbirds couldn't hold the lead though as EPC got good field position at midfield on a big kickoff return on its next shot at offense.

Bly ran it in 55 yards for the touchdown then ran it in for the two points to come away with a 22-22 tie.

Bly finished with 110 yards on 14 carries. Harston added 37 yards on the ground.

Byron Scales was 3-for-5 passing with two interceptions.

Weathers said both teams ran the ball well but singled out his offensive line for playing hard.

"We moved the ball on the ground very well. I think there was only maybe five yards difference in rushing," Weathers said. "All in all, I thought our offensive line played a lot better than we had."

EPC has a bye this week but will return to action Oct. 1 at home against Salem.