Dillon Warren's KO-return sparks 2nd half rout

Football coaches always stress the importance of all three phases of the game: offense, defense, and special teams. In the first half of Georgetown's game at Lindsey Wilson on Saturday, the defense held strong while the offense struggled to find its way. Special teams made its presence felt thanks to a 95-yard kickoff return for touchdown by Dillon Warren late in the 2nd quarter. It gave the Tigers a jolt that carried the team to 24 unanswered points, en route to a 27-10 over the Blue Raiders. The win was Georgetown's first in Columbia since 2012 and closes out a 2nd straight perfect conference season.

Lindsey Wilson took the opening possession and marched down the field on its Senior Day. The drive was capped by a 25-yard TD pass from Pryor Lamb to Henry Cason. It took 4:49 to go 75 yards over 10 plays for an opening 7-0 Blue Raiders lead. Georgetown's drive lasted less than a minute and ended in a punt. The Blue Raiders took over on their own 41. 3 straight runs moved 25 yards to the Georgetown 34. On 4th down from the spot, Lindsey Wilson went for the conversion but Ethan Mulbah broke up a would-be first down to turn the ball over to Georgetown.

Georgetown's only offensive drive of consequence in the half then followed. Gehrig Slunaker found Chandler Godby and Dillon Warren for 17 total yards to start. A pass interference call against the Blue Raiders moved the ball to the Lindsey Wilson 34. 3 plays later, Darius Neal broke free for 15 yards on a 3rd & 9 to extend the drive to the LWC 18. From there, the drive stalled out and Nate Craft came out to convert a 35-yard field goal to get Georgetown on the board late in the 1st.

As the game moved to the 2nd quarter with Lindsey Wilson leading 7-3, the Blue Raiders started a drive on their own 6 but were able to progress to the Georgetown 40. The Tigers' defense held and forced a punt for a touchback. Georgetown got the ball back with 8:10 to go in the quarter, but on play 2 of the drive, Gehrig Slunaker was picked off on a deep pass attempt. The return meant the Lindsey Wilson drive started on the Georgetown 32. The Tiger defense stood tall again as the Blue Raiders moved just 3 yards but did convert a 46-yard field goal for a 10-3 lead with 4:48 to go. The kick was made by Harris Nichols, who was called for unsportsmanlike conduct after the kick, meaning the ensuing kickoff was backed up to the 20-yard line. The penalty proved huge as the kick was fielded at the Georgetown 5 by Dillon Warren. Blocking was perfect throughout Warren's journey as he raced 95 yards for a touchdown to tie the game at 10. From there, the teams traded punts and went to the locker rooms tied, despite Lindsey Wilson having a yardage advantage of 165-77 and holding Darius Neal to just 17 yards on 7 carries.

The return by Warren proved the shot in the arm Georgetown needed and it carried to the 2nd half. The Tigers got the ball to start and immediately turned to Darius Neal. The All-American answered with 26 rushing yards on the first 4 plays from scrimmage. Georgetown then followed with a chunk play as Gehrig Slunaker hit Chase Benner for a gain of 29 to the LWC 13-yard line. The drive was capped by a 21-yard field goal from Nate Craft. Georgetown took a 13-10 lead after a 10-play, 71-yard drive.

The Blue Raiders quickly went 3 & out to give the Tigers the ball on their own 35. Georgetown began another methodical drive. The first test on the drive came on a 3rd & 7 where Gehrig Slunaker found Dillon Warren for a pickup of 8 to the GC 46. The Tigers then chose aggresssion on 4th & 1 from the Lindsey Wilson 45. Head Coach Chris Oliver kept his offense on the field and was rewarded with a 5-yard Darius Neal run to move the chains. The drive moved to the LWC 19 and a 4th & 2. A field goal would have been 37 yards, well within Nate Craft's range. Georgetown stayed aggressive once more. This time, Gehrig Slunaker called his own number for an 8-yard run to the 11. After a penalty, Slunaker connected with Dillon Warren for a 16-yard touchdown pass. The 14-play, 65-yard drive ate up 7:57 of the clock and gave Georgetown a 20-10 lead with just 25 seconds left in the 3rd quarter.

Lindsey Wilson picked up its only first down of the half on the final play of the 3rd quarter on a 10-yard pass, but moved no further and punted. The drive went 5 plays, the only Blue Raider possession to not end up in a 3 & out in the 2nd half. Georgetown moved the ball to the Blue Raider 41, where Drew Rader delivered a virtuoso punt that went out-of-bounds at the 1-yard line. While the drive yielded no points, Georgetown was able to burn over 5 minutes off the clock. Another Lindsey Wilson 3-play drive ended in a punt.

With 6:34 to go, Georgetown began its march. At this point, the Lindsey Wilson defense was gassed and Darius Neal took advantage. Neal carried for 9, 9, and 27 yards on 3 of the 1st 4 plays of the drive to move the ball to the Lindsey Wilson 34. On a 3rd & 6 with 3 minutes to go, Gehrig Slunaker sprinted away for a gain of 16 yards to the 14-yard line. 4 plays later, Georgetown went for the end zone on a 4th & 9. Slunaker found Chandler Godby for a 13-yard touchdown to punctuate the perfect MSC season. In fitting fashion, Lindsey Wilson's final drive lasted 3 plays as time expired.

Georgetown's 2nd half dominance was as impressive as anything on this day. The Tigers outscored Lindsey Wilson, 17-0, outgained them 247-17 and allowed just 1 first down. With Lindsey Wilson's offense kept completely in check, Georgetown grinded out the clock, holding the ball for 23 minutes, 51 seconds after halftime. 7 Tigers finished with 4 or more tackles, led by Chad Holleran's 8.

Darius Neal ran for 102 yards on 19 carries in the 2nd half. In doing so, Neal now has 3,180 rushing yards for his career, surpassing Tyrone Groves for #2 on the all-time list at Georgetown. Dillon Warren tallied 160 all-purpose yards and 2 touchdowns. Nate Craft went 2-2 on field goals and averaged 63 yards on kickoffs with 3 touchbacks. Drew Rader converted all 3 extra points and put 3 of 4 punts inside the Lindsey Wilson 20.

With a playoff berth already locked up, Georgetown now awaits the NAIA Playoffs Selection Show to find out about a possible opening-round bye. The selection show will be carried on the NAIA YouTube channel on Sunday at 7:00pm ET.