Lee's career night propels Watkins past Valley for 6th consecutive win

HANOVER ― Watkins Memorial's first play from scrimmage began innocently enough Friday in Randy Baughman Stadium.

Brody Lee caught a short screen pass from Patrick Carney along the right sideline. But once he broke a tackle, things suddenly opened up, and 73 yards later Lee was in the end zone and the visiting Warriors had a 7-0 lead only 19 seconds into the game. It was the start of a memorable night for the senior wideout-defensive back and the beginning of the end for Licking Valley, which committed an uncharacteristic five turnovers as Watkins spoiled homecoming with a resounding 30-13 Licking County League-Buckeye Division win.

Soon after that, Lee's 40-yard fumble return set up another score, and he capped things off in the second half with another TD reception, plus an interception as the Warriors (6-1, 1-0) won their sixth consecutive game. DaaVion Long continued his stellar season, carrying 24 times for 142 yards, but it was Lee getting the party started.

"I broke that tackle, I saw green and I just took off. That's one of our go to plays. We practice it a lot, and it normally works for us. It did last week, too," Lee said of the opening score. "Our kids understand it well, and execute it well," coach Darren Waters said.

Carney said the Warriors worked on screens and RPOs all week in practice, and blocking played a key role in springing Lee.

"We push it really hard, our wide receivers being able to block," he said. "Brody is an explosive player, on both sides of the ball. He's one of our best workers, so he earned this."

Lee's fumble return set up Carney's 2-yard TD run and Watkins jumped up 14-0 with 8:37 still on the first-quarter clock on Jude Wise's PAT kick (both he and Jody Katz went 2-for-2). Junior linebacker Sean Sheehan forced the miscue. "I saw the ball, scooped it up and tried to score," Lee said. "I didn't that time."

Meanwhile, the Warriors' stout defense was busy sacking Hayden Rodgers five times for 33 yards in losses in the first half, and Luke Mumford recovered a second-quarter fumble. But the offense drew eight first-half penalties for 75 yards and couldn't add on. They were stopped on downs at the Valley 16 and 31 and the Panthers eventually took advantage. Rodgers found Ayden Stalnaker along the left sideline for 35 yards and scored on a 4-yard run with 15 seconds in the half, slicing the deficit to 14-7 on Jacob Wheeler's kick.

"I'm really proud of how our defense played in the first half," coach Randy Baughman said. "They kept us in it, and our field position was horrible. We put them in every bad position that we could put them in."

The teams traded third-quarter turnovers, with Jace Henry pouncing on another Panther fumble at the Watkins 42, and Trent Clark intercepting a long Carney pass at the Valley 6. But on the next play, a bad snap rolled out of the end zone and the Warriors led 16-7 on the safety. Later in the quarter, Carney hit Lee over the middle and he sped into the end zone, completing a 37-yard TD for a 23-7 lead with 5:08 left in the third.

"It was a crosser route, and it was open all game," Lee said.

The Panthers were stopped on downs at the Watkins 22 late in the third quarter, and Henry recovered another fumble at the Warriors' 24 on the first play of the fourth. But Valley finally grabbed a spark when Stalnaker heaved a 49-yard wide receiver pass to Drew Hampton. On 4th-and-long, Rodgers rifled a 35-yard TD strike to Stalnaker with 7:11. However, the PAT pass failed, leaving it at 23-13, and Carney burst up the middle for a 36-yard score against the Panthers' tiring defense with 5:50 to play. Lee then put an exclamation mark on the win by picking off a pass at the Watkins 2.

"He's a great player, and if he gets the opportunity to make a play, he'll do it," Long said. "He practices really well. So it carries over into the games," Sheehan said.

The Warriors made things rough on Rodgers, who hit on just 8-of-22 passes for 154 yards. They had five sacks and 10 tackles for loss all told for 48 yards in losses.

"Rodgers is a really good quarterback, and we wanted to keep him inside and really pressure him," Waters said. "Our kids believe in our scheme."

Sheehan led the way with eight tackles, six solos and four assists, while Henry had 7.5 tackles, six solos and three assists. Victor Oliver had a sack and two tackles for loss, and Mumford two sacks and two tackles for loss.

After transferring from Granville, Sheehan has made himself right at home in the Watkins defense. "I've fit in pretty well so far," he said. "We're all good friends off the field."

Carney completed 12-of-21 passes for 184 yards and ran 10 times for 68 yards. Lee had three receptions for 112 yards and Long 52 yards on five catches. The Warriors overcame 12 penalties for 110 yards.

Colton Carr was a bright spot for Valley, logging 90 yards on 15 attempts. Stalnaker hauled in five passes for 113 yards and Clark had three for 34 yards.

"We knew we had to play a good game to stay with them, and you can't turn the ball over like that against a good team," Baughman said. "But they caused those turnovers, so a lot of credit to them. They had a good game plan, and they executed it. They beat us in all three phases."

dweidig@gannett.com

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This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Watkins Memorial rides Brody Lee's career game to 6th straight win