ONEONTA — It was closing in on midnight when the Cherokee County Warriors exited the field for the final time. The No. 2-ranked Warriors had to wait out two weather delays before the late night finish, but the Warrior faithful watched Coty Blanchard lead Cherokee County (4-0, 3-0) past the No. 6-ranked Oneonta Redskins (3-1, 2-1), 42-14.

Blanchard put on a spectacular show, throwing for one touchdown and rushing for three more. He also intercepted a pass and constantly kept the Redskins from gaining valuable field position with his booming punts.

Blanchard's reputation for versatility is growing across the state. After the game head coach Tripp Curry praised Blanchard and the rest of the Warriors.

“We've got some great players on this team but Blanchard makes this team tick,” Curry said. “If he is not the player of week or player of the year in the state of Alabama there is something wrong. He is a phenomenal athlete and a phenomenal football player.”

The Warriors jumped ahead early when Gabriel Chambers returned the opening kick for a touchdown. It took the explosive Chambers only 12 seconds to cover 95 yards and post a lead the Warriors never surrendered. Isaac Jones tacked on his first of six extra points.

D.J. Fife was the next Warrior to get into the end zone when he took a Redskin punt at the 31-yard line and sprinted along the Warrior sideline. Oneonta's Nolan Smith had Fife measured up and closed in on the speedster near the 20-yard line, but Fife shifted into overdrive and rocketed past. Jones' PAT extended the Warriors' lead to 14-0.

Cherokee County held the Redskins on their next possession. Facing a fourth down and 12 on their own 33-yard line, the 'Skins attempted a fake punt. But the Warriors broke up the pass attempt and scored again five plays later.

On third down Blanchard found Chambers, who made a beautiful over-the-shoulder grab and came down just short of the goal line. Blanchard's first rushing TD came with 1:27 left in the first quarter and Cherokee County led 21-0.

Strong defensive play that included a Desmond Brown interception dominated the second quarter, until Oneonta's Vernarr Hughes broke free for a 45-yard gain. Nolan Smith dove over the top from one yard out to get the Redskins on the board at 21-7.

A Brett Burgess interception ended another Redskin drive as the half expired.
The Warrior defense picked up where it left off in the third quarter. After Caleb Crane returned an interception to the 34, Blanchard powered across the goal line from the one. With 8:07 left in the third the Warriors led 28-7.

Blanchard picked off another Oneonta pass on the next drive, then he and the rest of the Warrior offense went back to work.

On second down, Blanchard again found Chambers behind the secondary and fired a perfect strike. The Warriors led 35-7 halfway through the third.

For over an hour, the game clock read 6:01 as the teams waited out the weather. At one point, the officials called the teams back onto the field only to send them back under cover.

After play resumed, the Redskins' got their final score of the game on a Smith rush from 17 yards out with 1:46 left in the third.

Blanchard posted one more highlight in the fourth quarter as he hurdled two Redskins defenders on his way to completing a 38-yard touchdown run. The extra point split the uprights and the Warriors soon headed back up I-59 with a 42-14 victory.

“We played great defense all night,” Curry said. “We had one or two breakdowns but that's going to happen. As long as our defense can go three-and-out and our offense has more plays on the field, the better off we are.”

This week, the Warriors travel to Heflin to take on Cleburne County. The Tigers (1-3) can't be overlooked; they lost a 21-14 heartbreaker to Anniston Friday night.