Western Boone Jr. - Sr. High School

RUSSIAVILLE - The start of the second half wasn't what the Western Boone football team was looking for on Friday night against Western. But after seeing a halftime lead slip away, the Stars did what they needed to do to move to 2-0 on the season. Western Boone overcame a 13-7 deficit in the second half to come away with a 21-13 win over the Panthers. "They came out on the first drive of the second half, marched it right down and got a lot of momentum," Western Boone head coach Justin Pelley said. "That was a huge turning point that could have gone either way. And our kids could have folded and didn't. The weather was pretty miserable out there, we had a lot of guys in and out and a lot of guys had to step up tonight." Western Boone took the lead in the first quarter, going on a long drive that was capped by a 17-yard touchdown run from Cannon Brunes. The drive included a 24-yard pass from Brandon Potter to Mason Tomes on a third-and-26 to set up a fourth-down conversion. Western Boone had a chance to increase the lead in the second quarter, driving down to the Western 14, but turned it over on downs. The Panthers took the first possession of the third quarter and scored to tie the game with 8:21 left in the third quarter, and after a three-and-out from the Stars, scored again with 3:15 left in the third quarter to take a 3:15 lead. "We just told the kids we needed to do what we do," Pelley said. "Our kids were beat, and we had a lot of kids going both ways, but they were tired too. We talked to our guys about the summer, and all the conditioning work we do. We hoped that we had a little more in the tank than they did and we did tonight." The teams traded punts on the next two drives, but Western Boone won the field position battle, getting the ball on the Western 30. Six plays later Brunes scored from 3 yards out, and Philip Talbott's extra point gave the Stars a 14-13 lead with 9:49 to play. WeBo's defense forced another punt, with a Tomes return giving the Stars good field position at the Western 45. The Stars were able to march 45 yards in eight plays, scoring on a 3-yard run from Potter. Western got the ball to midfield, but the WeBo defense stuffed them on fourth down to seal the win. "We had a little cushion, and there were some untimely penalties on both teams but they got backed up a little with a block in the back," Pelley said. "It's a tough spot there because you want to pin your ears back and go, but you have to know the situation too. They got us for a big chunk on a screen and got some chunk plays, but our defense held strong." Pelley said he liked his team's preparation during the week and the way they did what they could with the high temperatures throughout the week. Where it did make things difficult was on Friday night. With kids cramping in the heat and so many kids playing both ways while learning to play varsity football, Friday night's game provided some interesting challenges for the Stars. But they were able to persevere through them. "It's tough all around because a lot of these kids haven't been on a Friday night football field," Pelley said. "We played last week, but they got off the field pretty quick and they had to play four quarters tonight. We are used to having guys where we can make adjustments when we are on offense and defense, but we have more guys playing both sides of the ball. But we are learning and adjusting and are just trying to get better week by week." The Stars host Crawfordsville next week, looking to start 3-0 for the second-straight season. "We are looking for some depth," Pelley said. "We are playing four running backs, six defensive lineman and we are rotating wings in and out. We have to find out who can play where, and for four quarters. This week it's all about us and trying to get guys in the right spots. I think we have guys in the right spots, but can they stay there? Hopefully the conditions improve a little bit and we can stick with our guys." Will Willems is the Sports Editor of the Lebanon Reporter. Follow him on Twitter @Will_Willems.