Indians play near perfect game in win over Warhawks

SHARPSBURG-From the moment the national anthem was completed, Friday night could not go wrong for the East Coweta Indians in their 2013 season opener against Henry County Warhawks at Garland Shoemake Stadium.
The Indians won the toss and elected to receive then proceeded to dominate the Warhawks 49-8 on a warm evening for football.
In the opening drive, the Indians would begin at their 32-yard line and methodically pick apart the Warhawks defense for approximately 10 yards per play.
A nine-yard sack of quarterback Bryce Gemmel slowed the drive briefly until Weylin Orr lined up to the right of Gemmel, took the handoff and raced to his left for a 31-yard touchdown with 8:46 remaining in the first quarter.
Indians' placekicker Cole Antley could do no wrong either as he converted the extra point then drilled the ensuing kickoff into the end zone for a touchback.
This would be a recurring theme for Antley who converted all of his extra points and came within one yard of recording seven touchbacks.
After holding the Warhawks, the Indians appeared to be looking to add to the lead after three plays moved the ball to midfield, but an interception with Warhawks' defender Derrius Amis with 5:54 remaining negated the effort.
However, the Warhawks were unable to cash in on one of the few miscues by the Indians and were forced to punt.
That worked nicely for the Indians as Markell Boston took the kick from his 19 and raced 52 yards to the HC 29 with 3:15 remaining.
On this drive, Malik Robinson would have a 15-yard run but Orr would handle most of the seven-play series including a three-yard touchdown run with less than two seconds remaining to take a 14-0 lead.
After Antley's kick went into the end zone, the Warhawks took possession at their 20 but the Indians nearly had a third touchdown as quarterback Michael Foreman was intercepted at the 49 by Kevin Lashley who returned the ball back to the end zone for the score.
However, the Indians were called for a penalty and had to run an untimed play from the Warhawks 24.
No problem as Alex Branch, who wears number 24 carried the ball on the play and went through the middle of the Warhawks' defense for a 24-yard touchdown and the lead was 21-0 as the quarter officially ended.
The second quarter started the way the first ended with a turnover as the Warhawks fumbled the ball on the second play of the stanza and Alex Heard recovered at HC 35.
Similar to the first period, EC took advantage and scored as Robinson culminated a six-play drive with a three-yard run for a score and the lead increased to 28-0 with 9:35 remaining in the half.
On the ensuing series, the Warhawks went backwards with two penalties and the Indians eventually took over at he HC 43.
The ensuing possession didn't last long as Orr had an 18-yard run and Robinson had a 23-yard run that included a hurdle over two defenders on his way to the end zone with 6:25 remaining.
The Indians added another touchdown before halftime after a Warhawk turnover as Orr ended a six-play, 29-yard drive with a two-yard run.
The Warhawks averted a shutout with a 36-yard fumble return for a score 10 seconds into the final quarter and converted a two-point conversion but the Indians closed out the scoring with a three-yard run by Elishua Orr with 2:44 remaining.
Next for the Indians will be a trip to Gwinnett County for a matchup against Archer.