Warriors Kick Off Season At Watts
by Lea Lessley - Sports Writer
5 years ago | 117 views | 0 0 comments | 1 1 recommendations | email to a friend | print
The Warriors open their 2006 high school football schedule Friday night when Class C Webbers Falls visits Class B Watts in a non-district game.

Kickoff at Watts Stadium is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

Watts, which is located about 21 miles north of Stilwell on U.S. Highway 59, was 2-8 last season. Mike Burdge is in his first season as the head coach at the Adair County school.

Four of the Engineers top players are running back/linebacker Bobby Tehee (5-foot-11, 180-pound senior), quarterback/safety Ray Ward (5-8, 145, senior), center/guard Nathan Gilmore (6-0, 305, senior) and guard Taylor Fletcher (6-5, 450, sophomore).

Webbers Falls began playing eight-man football in 1996, and the Warriors and Engineers have split the six games played starting that season. The last meeting between the two schools was in 2001. The Warriors recorded wins in 1996 (56-8), 1998 (56-6) and 1999 (52-0) while the Engineers came away with victories in 1997 (14-12), 2000 (58-12) and 2001 (35-6).

Defensive standouts for the Warriors are defensive tackles Tyler Wooten and Cody Gaxiola, nose guard Ethan Morton, linebackers Hank Greenfield and Eric Lea, cornerbacks Allen Lea and Justin Lea and safeties J.D. Alexander and Eric Lea.

Offensive standouts for Webbers Falls are Kile Turley at center, Wooten and Allen Lea at the guard spots, Morton at tight end, Alexander and Clifton Gilbert at the wide receiver positions, Chase Butler and Chad Dandridge at quarterback, Gaxiola at fullback and Eric Lea and Greenfield at tailback.

Butler is beginning his third season at Webbers Falls, and his assistant coach is Sean Dandridge, the team's defensive coordinator.

The Warriors were 6-2 (third) in the District C-4 standings last season behind Midway and South Coffeyville, and they qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2002. Eighth-ranked Deer Creek-Lamont ended Webbers Falls' season last year at 7-4 with a first-round playoff triumph.

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