Warrenton wide receiver Chance McPike’s second half offensive explosion helped the Warriors remain undefeated with a home win Friday night. 

The Warrenton freshman hauled in four touchdowns, all in the second half, in Warrenton’s 49-21 win over Union. With the win, Warrenton (6-0, 2-0 GAC North) continued their perfect start to the season. 

“I saw that the safeties were playing down a little bit and they were manned up on me,” McPike said. “So I told my quarterback and I told my coach, I’m like, if they’re playing down, I think I can beat him up top. And they believed in me and gave me the ball up top.” 

McPike’s first touchdown of the day came on a 53-yard catch and run to put Warrenton up 28-13 nearly halfway through the third quarter. He added a 66-yard catch and run to give Warrenton a 35-13 lead late in the quarter. 

“On those, I ran a hitch and I catch it and I’m like, I turn and I just see the middle of the field open,” McPike said. “So I just use my breakaway speed and I just took it all the way.” 

McPike added two touchdown catches on go routes. He hauled in a 38-yard touchdown with less than a minute remaining in the third quarter. He added his fourth touchdown reception with under nine minutes remaining in the fourth quarter to give Warrenton a 49-19 lead. 

“He is a special athlete,” Warrenton head football coach Jason Koper said. We’ve seen him kind of coming up that he was going to be one of those special playmakers. And we hadn’t gotten the ball to him quite as much as what I would like to. You see why we like him and think he’s such a good athlete there. Great plays, great reads by (quarterback) Charlie (Blondin). He checked down, took advantage of what the defense was giving him.”

After falling behind 7-0 less than two minutes into the game, Warrenton scored the next 21 points to take a 21-7 lead into halftime. Warrenton scored on their opening drive by converting a 4th and 7 from the 15-yard line. Blondin threw a strike over the middle to Mason Thompson for the 15-yard touchdown to even the score. 

After the Warrenton defense stopped Union at the Warrenton 26-yard line on fourth down on the ensuing drive, running back Austin Haas took the opening carry 74 yards for a touchdown to put Warrenton up 14-7. The Warriors added a touchdown less than five minutes into the second quarter on Haas’ 3-yard touchdown run. The touchdown run came after Warrenton converted a 4th and 9 on a 19-yard pass from Blondin to McPike. 

“I just think one of the things that I felt this year about our mental maturity is any time we’ve gotten our backs against the wall, we seem to respond,” Koper said. “You know, whether it be defense, whether it be offense, somebody makes a big play, somebody responds and, you know, tonight was no different. We needed a big offensive drive and we go out and execute.”

Union trimmed the Warrenton lead to 21-13 before McPike’s four touchdowns put the game out of reach. 

With the Warriors holding a 14-point lead heading into the second half, Warrenton opted to almost exclusively turn to their passing game. Four of Blondin’s five touchdown passes in the game came in the second half. 

“They were blitzing on us so heavy, they were bringing heavy pressures and we figured out towards the third quarter how they were queuing on our blitzes and play calls,” Koper said. “It  took a little longer than what I would have liked. But our lineman finally picked up on it and once they did that, then we were able to execute pretty much like we had in the last couple of weeks. So hats off to them, they had a great defensive game plan. They executed well and took a little bit for us to catch up.”

Blondin finished the game 22-36 for 414 yards and 5 touchdowns through the air. Haas led the Warriors on the ground. He carried the ball 17 times for 142 yards and 2 touchdowns. McPike finished the game with 6 catches for 255 yards and 4 touchdowns. Thompson hauled in 8 passes for 84 yards and a touchdown. Warrenton senior Joe Goldsmith also got his first touch on offense this season. He was recently cleared to play offense after missing last season with a knee injury. He has started on defense in all six games. 

“It was just great to see him on offense because you talk about a young man that has overcome adversity and his character to have to battle through season ending injuries the last two years and finally get cleared and come out and make a big play, it was awesome,” Koper said. “And we got him a few touches. But we’ve got to work him in a little bit more.”

The Warrenton defense forced four Union turnovers in the win. Peyton Dawson recorded 3 interceptions. Brandon Johnson also had an interception. The Warrior defense recorded six sacks, led by Javon Jones’ two sacks. Johnson and Jones led Warrenton with six solo tackles. 

Warrenton, who is ranked No. 9 in the Class 4 Missouri media football rankings, will look to continue their undefeated start with a home game against conference opponent Winfield. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. Friday.