Football Pulls Away from LP in Second Half

The Sterling Golden Warriors traveled to LaSalle-Peru last Friday night hoping to extend the Cavaliers’ NCIC Reagan losing streak to 11 games. Sterling was able to do just that, but it was not easy as the Golden Warriors trailed twice in the first half before dominating after halftime to come away with a 28-14 victory.

For the second game in a row, the Golden Warriors got off to a poor start, turning the ball over on their first offensive play. L-P forced a Sterling fumble at the Golden Warriors’ 45 yard line and turned it into a 7-0 lead with 8:11 left in the 1st quarter. L-P’s Andy Hancock hooked up with Mike Heider on a long pass play, setting up Cameron Puetz’s two yard TD to give the Cavs their first lead of the game.

Sterling would fumble again on its next possession after moving into L-P territory, but the Cavaliers could not capitalize. The teams then traded punts before the Golden Warriors offense got in gear in the 2nd period. Sterling used a strong ground game and moved 42 yards on six plays with Aaron Cooksey’s four-yard TD run capping off the drive. Raciel Ocampo booted the PAT to knot things up at 7-7 with 7:15 left in the first half.

L-P didn’t trail for long as Puetz went the distance from 66 yards out on the Cavs’ next play from scrimmage, putting them back in the lead, 14-7, with 6:58 left in the half.

The Golden Warriors, however, had an answer with another hard-nosed drive late in the 2nd quarter. They marched 60 yards on seven plays and tied the game at 14-14 with a one-yard TD plunge by Mason Temiquel and another PAT by Ocampo.

In the second half, Sterling used clutch first downs, a dominating running game, and two clock-chewing scoring drives to put L-P away. A nine-play, 65-yard drive right after intermission gave Sterling its first lead of the game, 21-14. Cooksey scored from a yard out to put the Golden Warriors up for good.

In the final period, the Golden Warriors ate up 86 yards of the Fellows Stadium turf and ran 13 plays on a scoring drive that took 6:43 off the clock and the wind out of L-P’s sails. Cory Renner sprinted in from 12 yards out to finish the drive and Ocampo added the PAT to put the finishing touches on another Sterling victory. The biggest play of the drive came from Joe Schneiderbauer who, on third and five deep in Sterling territory, got hit three yards short of the marker but was able to convert the first down with a tremendous second effort.

Sterling (6-2, 4-1) dominated the game statistically. The Golden Warriors out-rushed L-P 360-121 and had an amazing 23 first downs, compared to 12 for the Cavs.

Sterling was led by Cooksey, who rushed for 126 yards on 15 carries. Schneiderbauer ran 15 times for 86 yards and Temiquel added 7 carries for 64 yards.

On defense, Schneiderbauer and James Eshleman each tallied 7 tackles to lead Sterling. Colt Preston added 6 tackles, including 2.5 sacks.

The Golden Warriors conclude the regular season at East Moline (United Township) on Friday night. Sterling has defeated U.T. four consecutive times.

Sterling Vs. LP Boxscore