West celebrated homecoming with a 35-3 rout of cross-town rival North.It was a sloppy game and both teams were penalized. A lot. North had eight penalties for 85 yards while West racked up eight penalties for 70 yards. There were six personal fouls in the game, including one that forced a North player to be ejected. "The ref said my kid threw a punch," North head coach Jason Galt said. "I didn’t see it so there’s not much I can really say if I don’t see it." The Wolverines (3-3, 3-2 in Region 6-AAAAAA) got on the board early in the second quarter with a 3-yard touchdown from Grant Torgerson out of the wildcat formation. The touchdown was set up by a fake punt that Torgerson took 20 yards to the Raiders’ 32-yard line. He finished the game with 14 carries for 98 yards and a touchdown. After forcing North (0-6, 0-5) to a three-and-out on the ensuing drive, West struck again. Hampton McConnell hit Nate Schmitz with a 36-yard bomb to the right corner of the end zone to put the Wolverines up 14-0. Schmitz finished the game with four catches for 74 yards and a touchdown. "I thought the offense and defense played great tonight," McConnell said. "We capitalized on the big opportunities tonight, and that’s the kind of stuff you have to do win games." West’s defense held North to just 84 yards of total offense, while picking up three sacks, an interception and a fumble recovery. "Up front was the key on both sides of the ball," West Head Coach Adam Clack said. "Our defensive line lived in their backfield and our offensive line stayed on their blocks and moved the line of scrimmage consistently all night. That makes things pretty easy on the rest of the guys." When North was able to make something happen, they shot themselves in the foot. Halfway through the second quarter McConnell was sacked, lost the ball and Clayton Bardell scooped it and took it 60 yards to the house. Unfortunately, there was an illegal block in the back during the return, bringing the Raiders back to their side of the 50. "It’s been the same story all year," Galt said. "We just keep shooting ourselves in the foot. We score a touchdown and block somebody in the back behind the play. And then right before the half we muff a punt. It’s been the same thing all year," The muffed punt gave West the ball on their 28-yard line with under a minute left in the half. It only took one play for McConnell to find freshman Michael Rogers with a strike down the middle of the field to put the Wolverines up 21-0 going into the locker room. The second half opened with a little bit of controversy. Nate Schmitz appeared to be letting North’s opening kickoff go out of bounds, however the ball didn’t go out of bounds and the Raiders were able to jump on it on West’s 10-yard line. But the officials blew an inadvertent whistle, forcing North to re-kick, which didn’t turn out so bad. On the re-kick, North pooched it up in the air near the sideline and was able to pounce on the ball at the West 39-yard line; this time it counted. The Raiders were able to drive down the field and Jacob Whitten put them on the board with a 26-yard field goal. But that’s about as good as it got. "I just think we could’ve prepared better," North senior Colton Miller said. "I think if we took practice more seriously, we would play better. We just gave up too many big plays." West answered immediately with one of those big plays, this one a 47-yard touchdown run from McConnell to put the Wolverines up 28-3 midway through the third. McConnell finished the game with 11 carries for 75 yards and two touchdowns. He was also 10-of-21 passing for 144 yards and two touchdowns through the air. "I thought collectively we played great," Clack said. "We constructed the game plan and stuck to it, the kids bought in, and we were able to execute."
West celebrated homecoming with a 35-3 rout of cross-town rival North.It was a sloppy game and both teams were penalized. A lot. North had eight penalties for 85 yards while West racked up eight penalties for 70 yards. There were six personal fouls in the game, including one that forced a North player to be ejected. "The ref said my kid threw a punch," North head coach Jason Galt said. "I didn’t see it so there’s not much I can really say if I don’t see it." The Wolverines (3-3, 3-2 in Region 6-AAAAAA) got on the board early in the second quarter with a 3-yard touchdown from Grant Torgerson out of the wildcat formation. The touchdown was set up by a fake punt that Torgerson took 20 yards to the Raiders’ 32-yard line. He finished the game with 14 carries for 98 yards and a touchdown. After forcing North (0-6, 0-5) to a three-and-out on the ensuing drive, West struck again. Hampton McConnell hit Nate Schmitz with a 36-yard bomb to the right corner of the end zone to put the Wolverines up 14-0. Schmitz finished the game with four catches for 74 yards and a touchdown. "I thought the offense and defense played great tonight," McConnell said. "We capitalized on the big opportunities tonight, and that’s the kind of stuff you have to do win games." West’s defense held North to just 84 yards of total offense, while picking up three sacks, an interception and a fumble recovery. "Up front was the key on both sides of the ball," West Head Coach Adam Clack said. "Our defensive line lived in their backfield and our offensive line stayed on their blocks and moved the line of scrimmage consistently all night. That makes things pretty easy on the rest of the guys." When North was able to make something happen, they shot themselves in the foot. Halfway through the second quarter McConnell was sacked, lost the ball and Clayton Bardell scooped it and took it 60 yards to the house. Unfortunately, there was an illegal block in the back during the return, bringing the Raiders back to their side of the 50. "It’s been the same story all year," Galt said. "We just keep shooting ourselves in the foot. We score a touchdown and block somebody in the back behind the play. And then right before the half we muff a punt. It’s been the same thing all year," The muffed punt gave West the ball on their 28-yard line with under a minute left in the half. It only took one play for McConnell to find freshman Michael Rogers with a strike down the middle of the field to put the Wolverines up 21-0 going into the locker room. The second half opened with a little bit of controversy. Nate Schmitz appeared to be letting North’s opening kickoff go out of bounds, however the ball didn’t go out of bounds and the Raiders were able to jump on it on West’s 10-yard line. But the officials blew an inadvertent whistle, forcing North to re-kick, which didn’t turn out so bad. On the re-kick, North pooched it up in the air near the sideline and was able to pounce on the ball at the West 39-yard line; this time it counted. The Raiders were able to drive down the field and Jacob Whitten put them on the board with a 26-yard field goal. But that’s about as good as it got. "I just think we could’ve prepared better," North senior Colton Miller said. "I think if we took practice more seriously, we would play better. We just gave up too many big plays." West answered immediately with one of those big plays, this one a 47-yard touchdown run from McConnell to put the Wolverines up 28-3 midway through the third. McConnell finished the game with 11 carries for 75 yards and two touchdowns. He was also 10-of-21 passing for 144 yards and two touchdowns through the air. "I thought collectively we played great," Clack said. "We constructed the game plan and stuck to it, the kids bought in, and we were able to execute."