By Bob Sutton
Special to The Alamance News
Drew Hambright’s first game as Western Alamance’s coach came with an array of developments.
The Warriors scored the game’s final 16 points to defeat visiting Northwest Guilford 33-32 on Thursday night in the season opener for both teams.
So it was an eventful coaching debut, with a memorable postgame celebration.
“A Gatorade bath and the game ball,” Hambright said.
Western overcame a 15-point, third-quarter deficit, with the final three points coming on Camden Oliveira’s 24-yard field goal with 1:42 remaining.
Then the Vikings drove to the Western 31-yard line before a fourth-down incomplete pass secured the outcome for the Warriors.
“A loaded game with a little drama.” Oliveira said.
And then some across the 3-hour, 15-minute ordeal.
“There was rough things going on, but we pulled through all the commotion,” Western running back Christian Payton said.
When Northwest took a 32-17 with less than 5½ minutes to play in the third quarter, it looked dismal for the Warriors. They were tagged with a pair of unsportsmanlike conduct penalties to add to their dilemma.
“We was down. We was up. We was down,” Western defensive end Carson White said. “Even though we were down, we stuck together. That’s what I love about this team.”
Western responded with a six-play touchdown drive, with Grayson Smith’s 40-yard pass hook-up with Colten Hill setting up Chance Johnson for a 1-yard TD run.
When the Warriors regained possession, they converted again with Payton scoring from 1 yard out. A two-point conversion pass failed, leaving Western in a 32-30 hole.
But the defense, which at times had White and linebacker Dawson Boysel seemingly taking turns making big stops, rose again. After a Northwest punt, Western took over at midfield with 4:36 to play.
Johnson accounted for 30 yards with a run and a reception, but the Warriors stalled and called upon Oliveira, who earlier missed an extra-point kick but had booted a 38-yard field goal. His final attempt wasn’t all smooth.
Holder Mason Buzzard reacted quickly to a skidding snap before Oliveira’s boot fluttered inside the right upright.
“I practice a lot. It was a routine kick for me, but a lot went into it,” Oliveira said, praising members of the unit for executing under duress. “It wasn’t positioned (on the tee) the way that you want it.”
The Warriors had notable numbers on offense, with Hill making six catches for 144 yards and Payton’s 14 carries resulting in 74 yards and two touchdowns. Smith, a sophomore in his debut as a starter, completed 21 of 36 passes for 286 yards and two interceptions – both in the first quarter.
Western scored first when Hill, surrounded by defenders near midfield, broke free for a 58-yard touchdown reception. Western was in position to build on the lead, but Northwest’s Jaylen Fulp picked off Smith and raced 97 yards for a touchdown.
Western went up 10-8 on the second play of the second quarter on Oliveira’s first field goal of the night.
Hunter Tilley threw 7 yards to Amir Wilks to put the Vikings back ahead. Western then drove 61 yards to the Northwest 1, but a fumbled snap was recovered by the Vikings in the end zone for a touchback with 1:22 left in the first half.
“We just kept fighting. We didn’t have a lot of things go our way,” Hambright said. “We kept believing. That’s what we talked about at halftime.”
The Warriors needed slightly more than four minutes to open the second-half scoring, with Marqua Sims returning the kickoff to the Northwest 17. Payton’s 3-yard run capped the possession.
Western ended up avenging a loss from last August.
