Football Downs UT to Finish Regular Season 7-2

The Sterling Golden Warriors hit the road for the regular season finale vs. the United Township Panthers at the Soule Bowl in East Moline last Friday night. The Golden Warriors’ defense was as dominant as ever and paved the way for a 28-6 victory.

Sterling’s D held U.T. to just four first downs and 78 total yards on the night and did not allow the Panthers any closer to the end zone than the Sterling 35-yard line. They also forced 10 punts. The only score that U.T. had was a fumble recovery in the end zone after a bad snap on a Sterling punt.

Colt Preston led the Golden Warrior defense with two QB sacks and numerous QB “hurries”. Nolan Anderson and Jordan Rodriguez had interceptions for Sterling and D.J. Jones played big along the defensive line.

On the offensive side of the ball, the Golden Warriors struggled early in the game and found themselves tied at 0-0 as the first quarter ended. Sterling finally got things clicking with a six-play, 52-yard drive early in the 2nd period that ended when Aaron Cooksey found the end zone from 20 yards out. The PAT by Raciel Ocampo put Sterling ahead 7-0.

Sterling would get on the board again at the 9:52 mark of the 3rd quarter, as Mason Temiquel scored on a 15-yard TD run. The five-play, 63-yard scoring drive was highlighted by two big runs by Codtey Albright. Ocampo made it 14-0 with the PAT.

Later, Joe Schneiderbauer would put the Golden Warriors ahead by three scores with a 34-yard TD run. Ocampo’s PAT made it 21-0 with 11:41 left in the game.

The Panthers only score came late in the contest as they recovered the ball in the end zone after a bad snap during a Sterling punt attempt. U.T. missed the PAT and trailed 21-6 with 7:00 left to play.

The final score of the game came from Cooksey, who benefited from a downfield pancake block from Schneiderbauer and rumbled 30 yards for a TD. Ocampo split the uprights for the finishing touches on a 28-6 Sterling victory.

Schneiderbauer led the Golden Warrior ground attack with 84 yards on 11 carries. Albright added 7 attempts for 67 yards, Cooksey went for 61 yards on 9 carries, and Temiquel ran 12 times for 55 yards. Sterling out-gained U.T. 281-64 on the ground and tallied 13 first downs.

The Golden Warriors (7-2) will host Chicago King (7-2) in the first round of the Class 5A Playoffs on Saturday afternoon. Game time is 5:00 p.m.

Sterling Vs. UT Boxscore