Warhawks beat Elba for big win

Daleville battled the Elba Tigers on the road Friday, Sept. 23, and walked away with a 27-22 win.

Daleville football coach Josh Parrish credits the big win to the players believing in themselves, since a bomb threat prevented them from practicing earlier in the week.

“Honestly, we couldn’t practice on Monday because of the bomb threat,” Parrish said. “So actually, I thought we were going to be unprepared. The biggest thing is…we believed that we could win. They had a belief, and they came and played their hearts out. We were lucky enough to come away with a win.”

The game started with a Warhawk kickoff to the Tigers.

Elba pushed down the field until Riley Remple caught an interception that put the Warhawks down at their own 25-yard line.

Daleville then fought down the field, and Kainan Pouncy rushed the final yard for a touchdown.

A good extra point by Christopher Perkins made the score 7-0 at the 7:06 mark in first quarter.

On their next possession, the Warhawks made another touchdown when Ryan Warren ran 40 yards into the end zone.

Perkins kicked a good extra point, and the score bumped up to 14-0 with 2:18 left in the first quarter.

The Tigers were next to score with a 12-yard rush into the end zone.

Elba went for a two-point conversion and got it with another run.

The score was 14-8 at the 9:04 mark in the second quarter.

With 3:47 left in the second quarter, Warren rushed 23 yards for another Warhawk touchdown.

A good extra point by Perkins brought Daleville’s lead to 21-8.

Elba scored on its next possession when a 15-yard rush into the end zone got the Tigers a touchdown.

A two-point conversion was attempted but unsuccessful, and the score was 21-14 with 1:04 left in the first half.

In the second half of the game, Elba was the first to score after it recovered a Warhawk fumble on its own 40-yard line.

A pass downfield got the Tigers a 60-yard touchdown at the 8:38 mark in the third quarter.

Elba went for another two-point conversion, and it was successful after EHS completed a pass.

The Tigers jumped into the lead at 22-21.

Parrish is still working with Daleville’s players to take care of the ball and stay strong defensively.

“Turnovers…and number two is not giving up big plays on defense,” he said. “Giving up big plays on defense kills us and could have killed us tonight. We found a way to overcome it, but we’ve got to eliminate those two things.”

Daleville then recovered a fumble by Elba, which put it at the Tigers’ 25-yard line.

The Warhawks pushed toward the end zone, and Chance Head rushed the final yard for a touchdown with 3:04 left in the third quarter.

The extra point was no good, and the score was 27-22, where it stayed to the end of the game.

Warren had an interception late in the game.

He also led the Warhawks on the ground with 131 yards and two scores on 11 carries, and Daleville gained 339 total yards.

The Warhawks allowed 218 yards to Elba, and Jaymiane Fils-Aime led the defense with 18 tackles.

On Sept. 30, Daleville will play the Providence Eagles at home.

Parrish had only good things to say about the Warhawks’ victory over Elba, including the team was where it needed to be mentally.

“They definitely were mentally ready,” he said. “We talk about that all the time, being mentally prepared to play a football game. I think they were zoned in a little bit more so tonight than normal, obviously playing the number one team in the state in (Class) 2A, and I’m just proud of them.”