CFNN Reporter Ansley Thomas

On Friday the Colts took on Western Alamance at home for the first round of the playoffs. The Colts won 33-13, making this the first playoff game that they’ve won in seven years. 

The Colts kicked off to the Warriors to start the game and quickly stopped them with a 3 and out forcing them to punt the ball.

“We knew they had some talented wide receivers going into the game,” said Junior Cornerback Kamari Faison. “We wanted to try to match up our best guys against theirs. I think we did a good job of taking away their best players, especially early in the game.”

The Colts offense quickly responded when sophomore quarterback Geronimo Sanchez threw a 24 yard touchdown to Jeremiah Melvin. With the successful extra point, the score was 7-0 barely 4 minutes into the game. 

The Warriors got the ball back on the ensuing kickoff, but the Colts defense was able to stop them again on an interception from safety Damien Gary. 

The Colts responded immediately with another touchdown pass from Sanchez to Melvin, this time for 79 yards. The Colts went for two but were unsuccessful, leaving the score at 13-0. 

The teams traded punts on the next two possessions before the Warriors were able to move the ball down the field and score their first touchdown of the game. They then missed the extra point attempt to make the score 13-6. 

With three minutes left in the half, the Colts were able to drive into scoring position, and kicker Fransisco Rodirihuez kicked a 47 yard field goal to make the score 16-6.

The Warriors were able to put together a drive and score again before the end of the half, but a missed extra point kept Western Alamance from making it a three point game. This made the score 16-12 at the half.

To start the second half the Colts received the ball. Quarterback Geronimo Sanchez responded with a rushing touchdown. The point after was good and the score was 23-12. The Colts would not look back from there.

The Warriors got the ball after a missed field goal by Rodriguez, but they didn’t have it for long after the Colts linebacker Landon Sargent recovered a forced fumble caused by Damien Gary for a touchdown. Rodiriguez made the point after and the score was 30-12. All told, the Colts would force four turnovers on the night. Gary was responsible for causing three fumbles, recovering one, and one interception.

“We had a lot of success defensively. The defense played well and executed. To continue to be successful, we need to continue to emphasize being good tacklers in space and stopping the run,” said Gary after the game.

The final score of the night came a little bit into the fourth quarter, when Rodiriguez kicked another field goal to make the score 33-13.  

The Colts defense was able to hold the Warriors for the rest of the quarter making the final score 33-13. This was a huge win for the team, as one of their goals for the season was to host and win a playoff game. Time to set a new goal, Colts!

“We’re focusing on one game at a time, and our goal is to go 1-0 each week. We continue to watch film to fix our mistakes and study our opponent,” said Head Coach Jacob Thomas. 

The Colts will travel to Havelock this Friday for the second round of the playoffs. Come out and support them!!