The Gettysburg Warriors (1-1) celebrated their home opener in style Friday night with a 41-34 victory over Waynesboro, powered by a breakout performance from sophomore quarterback Grant Johnson.
Johnson threw for more than 370 yards and four touchdowns, giving him over 600 passing yards through just two weeks of the season. “It feels great to win here,” Johnson said. “I really settled in from last week—both our line and receivers played great today.” Head coach Matt Heiser praised his young signal caller, noting, “He’s growing, he’s learning, and he’s eager to get better each week.”
The Warriors opened the scoring in dramatic fashion, marching 94 yards before Johnson connected with senior Kash Kessel on a 31-yard touchdown grab. After a quick defensive stop, Gettysburg struck again on a short pass to Preston Burnett for Johnson’s second score just 11 minutes into the game. Burnett added a five-yard touchdown run midway through the second quarter, and Trevor Cunningham extended the lead with a long catch-and-run to make it 25-7 late in the half.
Gettysburg wasn’t done. With just over a minute left before halftime, Julius Warren fielded a punt, slipped through tackles, and weaved across the field for a highlight-reel touchdown return, sending the Warriors into the locker room with all the momentum.
The second half began with Johnson showing toughness after a minor injury, staying on the field long enough to help set up a 20-yard field goal by Max Rawlings. Moments later, Johnson and Kessel connected again on a 65-yard strike, the receiver’s second touchdown of the night. Kessel finished with seven catches for 162 yards.
Although Waynesboro mounted a late comeback with three unanswered scores in the fourth quarter, Burnett’s first-down run in the final minute sealed the win. The final score of 41-34 was closer than the game itself, as Gettysburg controlled the contest for much of the night.
The Warriors return to Warrior Stadium next Friday, September 5, to face undefeated Red Land (2-0) in another Mid-Penn Keystone matchup.
Photos by Pete Vogel.
Great sports reporting!