The West Texas Warbirds capped off an undefeated regular season on a strong note as they defeated the Texas Jets 82-52 Saturday at the Ector County Coliseum.
West Texas got off to a quick start defensively by forcing one of three first half interceptions from Jets quarterback Brandon Edwards.
That provided a spark that eventually led to a comfortable 27-6 lead through one quarter.
Even though the Warbirds never trailed, the visiting Jets still managed to put West Texas in some uncomfortable spots with some big offensive plays.
Part of that came from Edwards, who ended up throwing three touchdowns passes en route to an 8-for-12 effort for 90 yards in the half.
Despite an interception, Warbirds quarterback Daniel Smith maintained the sharp level of play he has displayed in recent weeks. Smith went on to complete 18 of his 22 passes for 301 yards with nine touchdowns and an interception.
The Warbirds (5-0) once again set a new franchise best scoring mark, breaking the 72 points scored against the San Antonio Valor two weeks ago.
West Texas head coach Tate Smith said he was satisfied with the effort he saw from his team even though they were missing some players due to injuries.
“I thought offense was hitting on all cylinders from start to finish, the guys played really, really well,” Tate Smith said. “I thought our offensive line played extremely well in keeping guys off Daniel and it definitely gave us a chance to score a lot of points and make the fans happy.”
The Warbirds will now go into postseason play, expecting to face either the Texas Jets or Arlington Longhorns at 7 p.m. next Saturday at the Ector County Coliseum.
The team’s head coach said he thought the crowd played a big role in defeating the Jets and that will be important when the team is playing in elimination games.
“It was our biggest crowd I thought yet,” Tate Smith said. “It was awesome to hear our fans get into the game, get rowdy and make it difficult even at times for our guys because it’s the most noise we’ve heard in a long time.”
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