DELTA TWP. − A few minutes after the Waverly football team extended its lead to 20 early in the second half, members of the student section began chanting “3-and-0.”
It had been two decades since the Warriors were able to have a 3-0 next to their name when it came to football.
But now Waverly finds herself in that position for the first time since 2002 after her 39-14 home win over Lansing Everett on Friday night in a CAAC Blue opener.
“It definitely means a lot,” said Waverly quarterback Ronnie Spencer, who had three touchdown runs. “We’re trying to achieve the goals we’ve set for the season, so it’s good to continue on the right track.”
The Warriors are off to a 3-0 start for the third time since 1964. With their latest win, Waverly surpassed his win total from last season and matched his 2021 conference win total. But first-year coach, DeYeya Jones was not satisfied with the way the Warriors played as they extended their winning streak.
“I don’t like to be complacent,” Jones said. “I’m not going to sit here and lie to you. There was nothing I liked about the first half. I think in the second half we played our game a little bit, but we still have to improve. I can’t lie. I’m not satisfied with our performance from today”.
Warriors shake off a slow start
Waverly was plagued by special team bugs early on, leading to a slow start. Everett took a 6-0 lead on a Javari Funchess touchdown catch on the first play of the second quarter.
The Warriors responded in the next series behind the running skills of Jahi Wood. Wood had the first of two rushing touchdowns to cap the series. That started a 33-point unanswered streak for Waverly.
“It was like realizing we can’t take a team for granted,” Spencer said. “We were hoping to get out (leading) early, but it just didn’t happen. We just had to get our focus back.”
Waverly built a 19-6 halftime lead after giving up a rushing touchdown from Spencer in the closing seconds of the first half. An interception by Justis Ashley helped set up that late score.
Evan Walker added a kickoff return for a fourth-quarter touchdown to cap the score for the Warriors, who will take their perfect record on the road against Grand Ledge next week.
Waverly is now in position to start 4-0 for the first time in program history. Jones keeps his team focused on taking a day-to-day approach as they look to continue to build momentum.
“I see every game the same way, I can’t lie to you,” Jones said. “We approach them the same way every week. No game is more important than any other. We just live to play every game every week.”
Plus:Greater Lansing High School Football Week 3 Schedule, Scores
Contact Brian Calloway at [email protected] Follow him on Twitter @brian_calloway.