In what Washington Coach Brad Beller called their most complete game of the season, the Warriors pinned a 54-0 shut out victory on the Lindsay Leopards at Reed Field last Thursday night.

The Warriors scored in every quarter against the Leopards but it was his defense that Beller said set the tempo of the contest.

“I felt like our defense accepted the challenge,” Beller said. “We’ve had some lapses and with Lindsay you have to be physical and we answered the call.

“In a big game like Lindsay we only had two defensive busts so we played pretty good and remained aggressive.”

Beller said senior defensive end Naithen Spaulding is the defensive spark plug that sets the tone.

“It’s his physicality,” Beller said. “He seems to make plays even if he’s double or even triple teamed. He makes our defense go.”

Two other mainstays on the defensive side of the ball are Keller Howard and Case Taylor.

“Keller has had some back problems but he was back. He gets us lined up along with Case. Case played multiple positions and never lost his aggressiveness.

“I’m real proud of those three guys in how they have led our defense. They allow our secondary to read and run.”

Beller said senior Cole Beller, who finished with seven tackles including one for a loss and five solo stops from his safety position, is the ‘captain’ back in the secondary.

“He watched Jaxon Sanchez for years and learned from the best. Coach K (Jeff Kulbeth) told him to not get beat on the post and oh -by-the-way help on the run. He and Jaxon are two rare guys that can accomplish that,” Beller said.

Freshman Case Alexander and Spaulding led the defenders with eight tackles each. Cole Beller had seven stops matching the number of tackles by Kale Brakefield. Canyon Dowden caused a fumble, Mayson Thomas had a 40-yard scoop and score and Dawson Thomas had six tackles and picked off an errant Leopard pass.

When the Warriors had the ball they were as balanced as they could be rushing for 249 yards and four touchdowns and passing for 252 yards and three scores.

Major Cantrell connected twice for touchdowns to Cooper Alexander, one for 26 yards in the opening period and one for 21 yards in the third quarter.

But the back-breaker was the 83-yard bomb hauled in by Cage Morris for the second score of the night.

Cantrell also ran for a touchdown, joining Hudson Howard, Kade Norman and Dawson Thomas in that department.

“Offensively we were very balanced,” Beller said. “There was very little difference in our rushing and passing yards. We were very efficient on both sides.

Five different players carried the football led by Howard’s 16 carries for 132 yards.

“Kade Norman was unbelievable with five carries for 57 yards. He had a limited role but is very capable.

“Passing-wise Major was unbelievable with his poise hitting 12 of 18 attempts. He spread the wealth around. Tight ends Cooper Alexander and Nate Roberts had four catches each. Cage Morris and Max Wilson both had two catches on the night.

“Cage broke the game wide open in the first quarter with his 83 yarder,” Beller said.

Up next is a road trip to Purcell tonight (Thursday) with the winner having a commanding grip on first place in the district race.

“They’re playing their best ball of the year,” Beller said of the Dragons. The option offense they run is so tough to defend because all you see is spread offenses.

“They are very disciplined in what they do,” Beller continued. “Their offensive line has a very physical punch off the ball as good as we’ve seen all year.

“What coach (Aaron) Dillard has brought a very aggressive type of team that wears on you. It shows on what they can do with both their offensive and defensive line.

“I say this every year but they don’t beat themselves defensively. They are very fundamentally sound and communicate well. What they’ve added this year is an element of aggressiveness and physicality that maybe they haven’t had in the past,” Beller said.

The No. 1 Warriors are riding a 22-game winning streak.

“The key for us is to win the first down battle,” Beller said. “We need to win it on both offense and defense. Any time a team makes a big chunk on first down it fives them a chance to get into scoring territory.

“For us, it opens up the playbook,” he said. “We need to take care of the football and have good technique.”

Warrior notes:

Washington Head Coach Brad Beller nominated Major Cantrell as the Offensive Player of the Week.

Cantrell was 12-18 passing for 252 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed five times for 23 yards and had a two-yard touchdown scamper.

Tanner Winlock was nominated as the Offensive Lineman of the Week. He graded out at 91 percent against the Leopards.

Cole Beller was nominated as the Defensive Player of the Week.

From his safety position he was in on seven tackles, one for a loss and five of them were solo stops from the defensive backfield.

The Defensive Lineman of the Week nominee is Naithen Spaulding. He made eight tackles including one for a loss.