Kyle Buggs and Zyron Wells accounted for two touchdowns apiece Thursday night at Wanner Stadium to help Smithfield oust Warhill 30-22 in the Class 4 Region A playoffs’ first round.
The fifth-seeded Packers (7-4) next will face the winner between Denbigh and top-seeded Lafayette. The Rams and Patriots will play on the same Wanner Stadium field Friday night.
Buggs and Wells ran for first-half touchdowns, and Buggs threw a 10-yard TD pass to Jayven Reid on fourth-and-7 to spark Smithfield to a 21-8 lead.
Wells raced 80 yards to set up his 1-yard touchdown run.
After Reid’s catch, Braden Terns returned the kickoff for an 87-yard touchdown to bring the Lions within 20-14 at halftime.
Carson Strickland’s 69-yard touchdown pass to Micah Mason and Terns’ two-point run provided Warhill’s other first-half points.
Wells’ 23-yard run to the end zone guided Smithfield to a 28-14 edge in the third quarter. When Terrance Dove blocked a Lions punt of the end zone, the Packers made it 30-14.
Mason’s second touchdown reception of the night, a 38-yarder from Mason, and a two-point run closed the gap to 30-22. But Amare Boone’s interception with 8:05 to go kept the Lions from potentially tying the game, and Ja’Ki Parker’s pickoff in the final minute clinched it.
