Brown County 14 @ Triopia 36
Down 14-0 after one quarter of play, it appreared as though the Trojans of Triopia could be in for a long night against conference rival Brown County. But over the last three quarters of the contest, Triopia would rattle off 36 unanswered points on their way to a crucial 22-point win over the Hornets. The Trojans followed their usual script offensively, as they rushed for 305 yards on 51 carries. A pair of senior fullbacks in Dean Arendt and Blake Parker led the way with 106 and 101 yards, respectively. The biggest plays of the night came on a pair of fourth downs. Trailing 14-8 in the middle of the second quarter, the Trojans stuffed the Hornets on a fourth and goal, sparking a game-tying drive of over 95 yards. On the opening possession of the second half, Triopia faced a fourth and goal of their own. With the game tied at 14 a piece, Sophomore quarterback Isaac Werries untied it for good when he found Blake Parker in the back of the endzone. The victory gives the Trojans a record of 3-1 (2-0 in conference play).
West Hancock 46 @ Routt Catholic 20
The Titans of West Hancock ran to the tune of 300 rushing yards and 46 points in the first half of Friday’s contest against the Rockets of Routt Catholic. Less than two minutes into the opening frame, Titan running back Jacob Lowman got loose for 29 yards, giving West Hancock an 8-0 lead. But Routt responded quickly with a long run of their own. With just over eight minutes left in the first, Keegan Hoots took a double-reverse 40 yards to pay dirt, cutting the Titan lead to 2. Unfortunately, after that it was all Titans, as they scored another 38 points in the first half behind 155 yards from Lowman, and another 125 rushing yards from Josh Espinoza. With the loss, the Rockets move to 0-4 on the season.
West Central 18 @ Calhoun 21
In a match up of two hard nosed football teams from the WIVC South, the Warriors of Calhoun came out on top as both teams moved to 2-2 on the season. Holding a 12-6 lead at halftime, the Cougars were outscored 15-6 in the final two quarters, dropping them to 1-1 in conference play. What hurt West Central the most on Friday was their 12 penalties, which in the end cost them 105 yards. For Calhoun, the familiar names of Brandon Kizer and Blake Booth lead the way, along with a third score from Senior wide-out Gus Baalman. Kizer carried the rock 21 times for 73 yards and a touchdown. Booth tallied 69 yards on 9 carries and a score, and Baalman caught 3 passes for 34 yards and a touchdown. The Cougars will look to rebound next week, as they travel to Pleasant Hill in what should be a game that determines each teams’ final standings within the WIVC South.
Greenfield/Northwestern 6 @ North Greene 24
The Spartans of North Greene picked up a big conference victory on Friday, as the hosted perennial South power Greenfield-Northwestern. Kolten Heberling, the Spartan’s work-horse all year, notched 80 rushing yards on 25 carries and one score. Senior Chas Lewis added some big-plays as he gained 86 yards on the ground on just 8 carries. More big-plays came from Logan Ross, who accounted for 90 yards of just 5 carries and a score. Senior quarterback Nathan Randall had another solid night as he threw for 186 yards on 15-21 passing, finding fellow Senior Connot Vincent 5 times for 67 yards and a score. Ross and Lewis also added 58 and 60 yards receiving, respectively. One of the area’s finest linebackers, Zach Reische led the Spartan D with 16 tackles, 4 of which went for a loss. With the win, North Greene now sits at 3-1 and 3-0 in conference play. Next week’s match up at Carrolton should go a long way towards deciding who will take home first in the WIVC South. But if the Spartans continue to get contributions from their big-name Seniors, the blue and white should be sitting pretty come playoff time.
Riverton 22 @ New Berlin 55
Once again, the Pretzels of New Berlin wasted no time to get things rolling offensively as they lit up the Riverton Hawks for 35 first quarter points on their way to the 33-point conference victory. All 55 of the Pretzels points would come in the first half, as Senior quarterback Jake Hunt had yet another monster game, throwing for 342 yards on 24-35 passing and 3 touchdowns. Hunt also added 45 rushing yards and a pair of scores on the ground. Junior Cam Cummings led the way this time with 143 receiving yards on 8 catches and a touchdown. Fellow Junior Connor Burger added 2 more receiving touchdowns on 7 catches for 90 yards. Defensively, the Pretzels were led by Michael Spradlin’s 9 tackles, 6 of which were solo. Next week will be New Berlin’s first true test, as they travel to the home of the defending Sangamo conference champs in Williamsville. So far, no one has been able to stop the plethora of offensive weapons that the Pretzels throw out, but if anyone has the defense to do it, its the Bullets of Williamsville.
Jacksonville 34 @ Springfield High 39
Those who have followed Jacksonville Crimson football for the past decade or so know that the Senators of Springfield High always give the Crimsons a tough game. And Friday was no different. Heading into halftime with a 21-7 lead, the Crimsons felt rather comfortable as they were able to move the ball sufficiently on offense, as well as hold Springfield High’s offense to just one score. But the second half saw the Senators rattle off 32 points, including 18 in the final quarter. As for Jacksonville, the Crimsons’ got big contributions from Sophomore James White, who racked up 125 receiving yards and a touchdown, as well as Dion Jackson, whose 4th quarter score put the Crimsons up by 3 with just over 2 minutes to play. In the end, the Senators’ rushing attack would be too much, as they scampered down to take back the lead for good with under a minute to play. With the loss, Jacksonville moves to 1-3 on the season. They host Decatur Einsenhower next week for homecoming.
