Braves Outlast Warriors in KCAC Bout

Ottawa, Kan. - The Warriors were ready to travel to Ottawa to take on the Braves in hopes of improving their season record last weekend. The Braves got the best of Sterling, putting up a relentless attack in the second half. After being down just one score at halftime, Sterling lost 55-17.

To start the game off, Sterling's first drive resulted in a penalty for illegal touching and a 14-yard punt by Mason Cobb. The Braves took over on the Sterling 34 and scored two plays later putting the Warriors down 7 points. With the quick score by the Braves, the ball ended up back in the hands of Rocklin Baptista looking to lead the offense down the field. The drive, however, ended in another punt and resulted in the Braves having the ball at the Ottawa 46-yard line. The Braves capitalized on this with another touchdown giving Sterling an early 14 point hole.

In the middle of the quarter, Rocklin Baptista and the rest of the Warrior offense looked to put some points up on the board. TC smith was at running back and got the handoff from Baptista and ran in for an 18-yard touchdown. The Warriors made it a tight game trailing 14-7.  Three minutes into the second quarter, Baptista connected with Bryant Brown for an 11-yard receiving touchdown. Brown's touchdown was his first collegiate touchdown after being a backup QB for most of his career.

 With the Warriors scoring 14 straight points, it was a tie ball game until Ottawa broke away with a touchdown nearing the end of the first half. The Warriors fought hard in the second half, but Ottawa got control of the game from there on. The Braves went on to score six more times in the second half before Luis Franco made a 26-yard field goal making the final score 55-17 in the Brave's favor.

For the second week in a row, Franco has gone 100% on all extra points and field goals. Trey Dixon also returned the ball three times for 68 yards on kickoff returns which got him to 500 yards in total for this season on kickoff returns. The Warrior offense rushed for 121 yards total in the game, led by TC Smith with 78 yards.

The Warrior defense was led by Hunter Pullen who recorded 14 total tackles, one of them being a tackle for loss. Diego Moran followed behind with nine tackles and Dexter Walker Jr. with eight. Armando Juarez and Sedarrion Williams both got a pass break up. Nate Criqui recovered a fumble for the Warrior defense

The Warriors drop to 0-2 in the Bissell division and 1-7 in the conference. Warriors will host the University of Saint Mary on Saturday at 1:00 PM with a special recognition for our Seniors.

Be sure to check for news and updates on Sterling Warrior Athletics on Facebook (/SCWarriors), Twitter (@SterlingCSports), and Instagram (sterlingcsports), as well as the hashtag #SwordsUp. Watch the Warriors' live home events on the Sterling College Sports Network.