The Walled Lake Western offense started quickly Saturday afternoon, scoring on its first five possessions enroute to a 61-21 victory over Fenton to win its second regional championship in many years.

Senior quarterback John Tracy threw for 241 yards (13-17) and four scores. Tracy threw touchdown passes to fellow seniors Kam Ford (two catches for 56 yards) and Cody White (three catches for 21 yards), and two touchdown strikes to junior Justin Thomas (five catches for 100 yards.) White, running out of the wildcat formation at times, also ran four times for 68 yards, including a 40-yard touchdown run.

The Warriors’ “Smash and Dash” running tandem of Ja’Len Marshall (11 carries for 59 yards) and Jamon Benson (five carries for 65 yards) followed the blocking of Rob Hudson, Joey George, Ryan Dickinson, Zack Fodal and Dylan “Gibby” Garwood to combine for 124 yards on the ground. Benson found pay dirt twice and Marshall added a nine-yard score of his own.

Western head coach Mike Zdebski praised the play of his offensive line. “Our offensive line today, they kicked some tail. We were able to run the ball extensively. And our quarterback is one of the best in the state, if not the best.”

As impressive as the Warriors were offensively, they were just as good defensively, holding the Fenton offense to just six points through the first three quarters of play. Defensively, the Warriors were led by seniors Matt Alati, Josh Johnson, Jack Dodge, Nick Rossi, Jason Peets and Troy Williams, and juniors Jonathon Moffett and Ben Reilly.

With the running clock throughout the second half, Western held a 54-6 lead at the start of the fourth quarter. Backup quarterback Dylan McGorisk threw a 54- yard touchdown pass to fellow junior Ilija Lazich to put the Warriors up 61-14. Fenton managed to tack on two late scores, but when it was all said and done, the Warriors won their second consecutive regional title, running away 61-21.

Zdebski has now led the Warriors to 16 playoff appearances since taking over the Western program in 1999, a season in which the Warriors won the second state championship in school history. The veteran coach was very pleased with his team’s effort on Saturday.

“That’s about as good as we’ve looked all year,” he said. “We were sharp and I think we really got things going in the second half last week (vs. Pinckney) and just kept rolling today. It’s a good time to be rolling.”

Western hopes to keep things rolling next week as they meet Lowell in the semifinals.