It was whistle-to-whistle dominance for the South Warren Spartans on Friday night, as they defeated Warren Central 53-14 thanks to a dominant first half of offensive football.

“We just took what they were giving us,” South Warren coach Brandon Smith said after the game. “I thought coach (Andrew) McCloud did a good job of being smart with that. The guys executed.”

Luke Burton put the Spartans in the lead early after the team took over at the Warren Central 20-yard line. Burton took the direct snap at the 1 and plowed through the defense for the score.

After another turnover on downs, Kobe Martin found the end zone with another 1-yard run. The conversion put the Spartans on top 16-0. Following the score, the Dragons again went four and out, giving South Warren (4-0) the ball on the Warren Central 20.

A 19-yard strike from Caden Veltkamp to Jason Putnam continued the South Warren run of dominance, before the two connected for the second time, after yet another turnover on downs, to extend the lead further. The first quarter ended with the Spartans holding a 30-0 lead.

The second quarter was more of the same for South Warren. Veltkamp threw touchdown passes to Nathan Neal and Jantzen Dunn, and Burton found the end zone a second time, this time on a handoff. The Dragons also snapped the ball through their own end zone, resulting in a safety.

Veltkamp, who sat out the second half after throwing four touchdowns in the first two quarters, was complimentary of his teammates.

“The receivers ran great routes,” Veltkamp said after the game. “O-line gave me time to deliver the ball and I put it in the right spot.”

The clock was running at halftime, when the teams left the field with Warren Central (0-4) down 53-0.

The Spartans took the ball to start the second half and drove downfield, taking all but three minutes off the third quarter clock. However, they were unable to put any points on the board, turning it over on downs at the Warren Central 24.

The Dragons made good for the first time all night, scoring a touchdown on a 76-yard score from Trenton Leach to Antonio Barbee on the last play of the third quarter.

“All I asked them to do in the second half was go out and finish for me,” Dragons coach Cary Fowler said. “Play their guts out on defense and offense.”

The Dragons finished out the contest with another touchdown. However, the 11-yard strike from Leach to Tayton Smith was too little too late and the Spartans walked away with a 53-14 victory.

WC 0 0 8 6– 14

SW 30 23 0 0 – 53

First Quarter

SW – Luke Burton 1 run (conversion good), 9:28.

SW – Kobe Martin 1 run (conversion good), 6:39.

SW – Jason Putman 19 pass from Caden Veltkamp (conversion no good) 5:36.

SW- Veltkamp 17-yard pass to Putman, (Eldar Dervisevic kick), 3:25.

Second Quarter

SW – Burton 1 run (Dervisevic kick), 11:27.

SW – Nathan Neal 34 pass from Veltkamp (Dervisevic kick), 7:48.

SW- Safety, 5:30

SW – Jantzen Dun 53 pass from Veltkamp (Dervisevic kick), 3:10.

Third Quarter

WC – Antonio Barbee 76 pass from Trenton Leach (conversion good), 0:50.

Fourth Quarter

WC – Tayton Smith 11 pass from Leach (conversion failed), 2:00.{&end}