CHRISTA CONFAIR/Special to the Sun-Gazette Hughesville's Jed Abernatha runs against Warrior Run in Turbotville on Friday.

James Keifer has had plenty of big games in Warrior Run career as a three-year starter at quarterback. But he will always remember his performance on his senior homecoming night as one of his very best.

Keifer was a perfect 10 for 10 passing with three touchdowns en route to a 42-7 romp over Hughesville in Turbotville Friday night

“It was just such a nice night. The weather finally changed, football weather. It was cold out, but I got it done,” Keifer said. “I’ve got trust in my receivers, Cohen and (Liam) Moore, and Ty (Ulrich) sometimes.I’m gonna give as much credit to the receivers as I do the line because they’re what keeps me nice and clean.”

Keifer was picture-perfect all night long. Whether it was a short, intermediate, or deep throw, the senior was right on the money.

“That’s an unbelievable performance by him. That’s hard to do no matter who you’re playing. Some of them we just audibled out, and he took advantage of matchups,” Warrior Run coach Derrick Zechman said. “But he’s smart, very efficient, accurate, can throw the ball down the field, can get the ball to the little bubbles and that. He can beat you with his feet, which we didn’t even have to do. He’s playing really good, really good football here.”

It helps to have an offensive line that is playing at a high level, and a weapon like Cohen Zechman. Zechman continued his fantastic senior season. The senior nearly returned a punt for a touchdown, caught three touchdowns, and threw a touchdown pass on a halfback pass.

Hughesville simply had no answer for Zechman, as he caught balls at all three levels of the field and turned them into big plays.

“He’s a grinder. He’s tough, too. Very smart, shifty. He put in a lot of work, and I’m very happy for him, not only as a coach but as a dad. He’s been making plays all year for us, special teams and receiving.,” Zechman said. “Credit to the guys up front, and he’ll be the first to say that with the guys blocking. And, James (Keifer) is putting the ball on him. It’s fun to watch.”

Warrior Run received the opening kickoff and went right down the field and scored, capped off by a 7-yard run by Denyn Beachel less than two minutes into the game. And after forcing a quick three-and-out, the Defender offense got back to work. A 10-yard and 18-yard run got the ball to just past midfield. Then, Keifer threw a beautiful pass to Zechman on a skinny post over top of the Hughesville secondary as Warrior Run took a 14-0 lead.

After forcing another Spartan punt, Warrior Run had a methodical 11-play drive that featured a good dose of Beachel and Ulrich on the ground with a 20-yard reception by Zechman mixed in. Zechman would finish the drive off, as a scrambling Keifer found him on 1st and goal from the 8-yard line near the 5-yard line marker. Zechman caught the pass, jumped inside to make a man miss, and found the end zone to put Warrior Run up 21-0 just 13 1/2 minutes into the game.

The Hughesville defense did force a stop the next time the Defenders had possession. But, Warrior Run found another way to score. An option pitch by Nick Stubbs went wayward after he was hit by Carter Pena. Beachel picked up the fumble and ran it in 45 yards ninety seconds before halftime for a 28-0 lead.

“This is Pena’s first week starting. He hasn’t played at all yet this year, but he came in, he did a great job. He attacked the quarterback and made that play easy,” Beachel said. “It feels great. You don’t get to do that every day, and that stuff doesn’t happen a lot.”

Warrior Run put the game into the mercy rule on their first drive of the second half when Zechman took a pitch from Keifer, and found Liam Moore around the 10-yard line. Moore came back to receive the pass, made a move, and cut through the Spartan defense to put the Defenders up 35-0. Hughesville immediately answered with a 93-yard kickoff return from Carson Stackhouse. But, Keifer and Zechman hooked up one more time a few plays later, as Zechman hauled in a 40-yard touchdown reception for the game’s final score.

Hughesville, who has struggled on offense this year, was able to move the ball at times with a new configuration on the offensive line. That’s something that they would like to build on heading into the final two weeks of the season at 1-7.

“I think with this line, we’re just going to make sure that we stick on our blocks. We’ll double when we have to double. Our passing game isn’t what it’s been like the last three or four years,” Hughesville coach Howard Rainey said. “We’ve had a great passing team, so we’re going to work hard on our patterns and our routes a little bit better. I think that our young guys just aren’t running their routes, and when they are, they’re dropping the ball, so we can’t have that.”

Warrior Run will return home for Senior Night next Friday night against Central Columbia.