Georgetown Honors Dillon Warren On Senior Day
Samuel Warren
Herald Staff
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The Georgetown College Tigers football team (6-2) went down 7-0 after the initial drive from MidSouth Conference rivals University of the Cumberlands (5-4) on Saturday, Nov. 2, at Toyota Stadium in Georgetown. The Tigers have recently got back on track after dropping two of their first three games of the season. Both of the Tigers’ losses were away games. On Sept. 14, the Tigers battled with Division-I FCS Alabama A&M and took the lead first, even tying the game in the third quarter, before eventually losing 24-16. The Tigers only other loss came in the season opener against the number ten ranked team in the most recent NAIA coaches poll, Montana Tech.
Now well into conference play, the Tigers have all but reclaimed their second consecutive MidSouth Conference champions title. After dominating in wins over conference rivals Bethel College and Cumberland University (TN), the Tigers still have three wins to claim if they’re to solidify themselves as a number one seed in the NAIA Football Championship Series, starting with the Cumberlands Patriots.
Georgetown College wideout Dillon Warren looked up field for someone to block during the Tigers come from behind 19-16 victory over MidEast Region rivals University of the Cumberlands on Saturday, Nov. 2.
Before kickoff, Georgetown College honored its 24 football seniors, including former Mercer County High School graduate Dillon Warren, who returned for a fifth season of college in order to finish his second degree. Warren is the Tigers second leading receiver and so far, playing in four less games than last season, he has tallied 296 receiving yards compared to 291 last fall. Warren says the appointment of new wide receivers coach Dayne Keller has had a positive impact on his game.
“This coach came in and implemented some new things we haven’t really done before and honestly, me working on some stuff that I wasn’t necessarily super confident with last year, kind of helped put more confidence on my back this year,” said Warren after the game. Warren also expressed his gratitude to the program that gave him an opportunity to play the sport he loves while earning a college education. “I’m going to graduate from here in December with a nice degree and I just appreciate the opportunity they gave me to come here and play football, and also to get a degree from a great institution like Georgetown,” said Warren.
The Patriots initial drive spanned 70 yards and drained nearly six minutes from the clock. Georgetown got off to a good start on their second offensive drive when junior quarterback Gehrig Slunaker connected with Warren for a gain of 12 yards, but the drive stalled, and even after the Tigers recovered a muffed punt, the offense was still warming up and couldn’t gain another first down.
The Tigers offensive struggles continued for most of the first half, the defense scored first after bringing down Patriot runner Job Matossian in the endzone for a safety. The Tiger offense finally got on the scoreboard with 5:53 remaining in the first half, when Cumberlands failed to convert a short-yardage fourth down from their own 26-yard line. Darius Neal, former Frederick Douglas graduate, powered in his eighth touchdown of the season to give the Tigers their first lead. The Patriots marched 75 yards down the field and reclaimed all momentum just before halftime, finishing the drive with a 9-yard touchdown run with only 32 seconds remaining in the first half.
The Patriot secondary was locked in, and for the most part, shut down the Tigers passing game. Warren was targeted four times during the second and third quarter, but finished the game with one reception for 12 yards. He also tallied 62 yards on three kickoff returns.
The Tigers turned to Neal and the run game to complete the comeback. Neal ran for 51 yards over six straight carries to kickstart the Tigers’ second scoring drive early in the third quarter, and burst through the line from two yards out to give the Tigers their first lead with just under two minutes to play.
In the end, the Tigers moved one win closer to claiming a MidSouth Conference Championship with a 19-16 win. The Campbellsville University Tigers (8-1) and Lindsey Wilson College Blue Raiders (6-2) still lie in the way of a number one seed in the tournament for Georgetown. The Tigers will face CU on Saturday, Nov. 9, in Campbellsville, and LWC on Saturday, Nov. 16, in Columbia.
“We started out with a loss to Montana Tech, a little rocky game, but we’re hitting our stride right now, and I really feel confident about our team,” said Warren.
