The off-season frost the Warriors acquired melted at the E-Center Saturday with a 63-16 walloping of the newly formed Colorado Venom.
The Warriors, last season's most potent offense in the 26-team NIFL, resumed the business of putting points on the board. Last year the Warriors averaged 58 points a game, another league best, and against the overmatched Venom the offense did not disappoint.
This time the new face behind center, former Dixie State quarterback Doug Smith, was the star, finishing the game with an astonishing passing rating of more than 110 points. Last year, Smith didn't see any action during the regular season, instead honing his passing skills on the practice squad.
"It's real easy when you have weapons like we have. Everything just opened up for us," Smith said.
Smith looked comfortable in the pocket, passing for five touchdowns against the Venom defensive backfield, and rushing for more than 50 yards, including a touchdown.
Replacing his predecessor, Danny Ragsdale, Smith found a rhythm early on that led to his success in the air.
"He's an amazing guy," coach Lee Leslie said.
The Warriors opened the night with a 25-yard, three-minute drive culminating in an Omar Bacon 5-yard run into the end zone. Bacon, the team's leading rusher last year, finished the quarter with another touchdown.
Bacon's easy touchdown was evidence of things to come for the rest of the night. Pounding the Venom to the tune of 42-7 in the first half, the Warriors played the rest of the game at a more subdued pace. The defense played the second half with a higher level of intensity than it began with. Trevor Bell, one of the Warriors' more talented cornerbacks, played most of the night in center field, picking off multiple off-target Venom passes in an impressive performance.
However, Bell went down with an apparent knee injury in the fourth quarter that didn't look good.
"We may have lost him for the rest of the year," Leslie said.