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| # 3 Antoine Davis - Photo by Derik Holtman |
GRANITE CITY -- The Granite City Warriors took destiny into their own hands.
Devin Narvaez and Kentaye Lair both returned interceptions for touchdowns in the fourth quarter as the Warriors clinched their first playoff berth since 2007 with a 27-7 win over the Belleville West Maroons on Friday night.
Narvaez had a 61-yard interception return with 8:46 left and Lair had a 72-yard interception return with 5:43 left.
Kaprix Sloan also rushed for 190 yards and two touchdowns for the Warriors (6-3, 4-3), who will learn next week's first-round playoff opponent at 8 p.m. today during the IHSA's Playoff Pairings Show.
Had the Warriors (6-3, 4-3) lost, they would have been forced to sweat out the pairings show to see if they were one of the teams that had qualified for the playoffs with a 5-4 record.
"We challenged the kids all week: Let's put it our hands, let's not put it anybody else's hands,"' Granite City coach Carl Luehmann said. "I'm proud of them. That's exactly what they did."
Lair said the Warriors, who posted a 3-6 record last season, went into this season not really thinking that a playoff berth was possible.
"It was iffy (at the start of the season), but by midseason it was like, 'We are going to do this. We are going to come together as a family and do this,"' Lair said.
The Maroons end their first season under coach Cameron Pettus with a 2-7 overall record and a 1-6 record in the Southwestern Conference.
Pettus walked around the locker room hugging each one of his seniors after the game.
"I just thanked them for all the dedication to our program," Pettus said. "They stuck it out, and I told them they are going to be successful because they learned to do things the right way. I'm just so proud of them, and I love them all."
Pettus said his first season as a head coach was a learning experience.
"I don't think you're ever happy, not if you are doing it right, but it was very good for me because I learned a lot," Pettus said. "I learned a lot of how to be a better coach."
The first quarter was a defensive struggle with only three first downs -- all by the Warriors.
The Warriors got on the scoreboard with a 10-play, 78-yard drive that was capped by Sloan's 1-yard touchdown run with 8:49 left in the second quarter.
Brian Nemsky kicked the first of his three extra-points to put the Warriors ahead 7-0.
The Warriors went up 14-0 with 3:21 left in the second quarter when Sloan broke loose for a 51-yard touchdown run on a fourth-and-inches play.
The Maroons finally got a first down on a 10-yard run by Jeremy Hill with 8:27 left in the second quarter, but the drive stalled after quarterback Kyle Leadlove was sacked for a 9-yard loss by Lair.
The Maroons took the opening kickoff of the second half and put together a good drive that stalled when Jeremy Hill was stopped after gaining a yard on a fourth-and-2 play from the Granite City 9.
West got the ball back and then got on the scoreboard on a 22-yard touchdown run up the middle by freshman Antoine Davis with 14 seconds left in the third quarter.
Pat Lenz kicked the extra-point.
The Maroons had the ball near midfield when Narvaez intercepted a pass by Leadlove and returned it 61 yards for a touchdown to put the Warriors up 20-7.
"We're driving the ball at 14-7 and we throw the Pick 6 there, which was a tough one," Pettus said. "The only points they scored in the second half was off two interceptions."
The Maroons had fourth-and-4 inside Granite City territory when Lair intercepted a pass over the middle and ran for the victory sealing touchdown.
"Our defense has come through in some big situations this year," Luehmann said. "Two Pick 6s, I'll take that any day."
Lair was able to score despite playing on a gimpy ankle that he injured earlier in the game.
"I couldn't believe it," Lair said. "I was like, 'Did he throw that to me?' I just grabbed it and took off. Then I was just praying, 'Don't fall.' I had to turn on my jets and get out of there."
