Western Boone Jr. - Sr. High School

DOVER - A match-up between top-10 teams in Class 3A came down to the final seconds on Friday night. And despite leading for nearly the entire second half, No. 4 Western Boone dropped their first game of the season to No. 10 Tri-West when the Bruins scored the go-ahead touchdowns 32.2 seconds to go. It was a game of missed opportunities for the Stars, who managed just one first down in the second half and finished the game with three straight three-and-outs. "Our defense played lights out, had a great scheme and did everything they needed to do," Western Boone head coach Justin Pelley said. "We couldn't get a first down when we needed to. We had three chances to get a first down and couldn't do it. When you can't do that, you aren't going to win games." The Stars turned took a 21-12 lead with 3:09 left in the third quarter thanks to a pick-6 from Philip Talbott, who returned it 41 yards for a touchdown. The play was set up from pressure from Marco Velazquez, who nearly had the sack and forced a poor throw. It was one of just several big plays for Talbott, who had an interception in the first half that set up a touchdown run and also blocked two extra points. It was part of a solid defensive night for the Stars, who held down a talented Bruins offense for most of the game. "Their preparation was excellent," Pelley said. "Our defensive coordinator Travis Brunes, he had these guys ready to go. They were all on the same page watching well and they did their job tonight. They made adjustments when they needed to. We were a little out-manned in there, but our kids fought, it just wasn't enough from an offensive standpoint." The Stars then forced a turnover on downs on the Bruins' next possession, and took over at their own 39. But the Stars were called for a false start on a third-and-short, and led to another punt. It was one of several untimely penalties for WeBo in the game. "We did everything we needed to do, but mindless and careless errors hurt us," Pelley said. "We moved the ball OK in the first half, but in the second half we just stalled." Tri-West, down 12, followed with a touchdown drive - aided by two Western Boone penalties and a fourth-down conversion, to score with 6 minutes left. The Stars tried to milk some clock, but went three-and-out and took only 90 seconds off the clock in the process. Tri-West used nearly the entire final 4:30 on the clock, going 70 yards on 13 plays to score the go-ahead score with 32.2 left. "We just couldn't sustain drives," Pelley said. "We tried getting the ball to our best player, tried to make some checks and just didn't go the right way. It is what it is, but we have to help the defense out. We still had a chance at the end because they played their butts off." Western Boone, now 3-1, travels to North Montgomery next week. The Chargers are 2-2 on the year and coming off a 42-22 loss to Lebanon. "We will see how we respond," Pelley said. "We had a great week of practice this week, so we will see if we can continue that. Our kids are getting better, I'll tell you that. That's a team that we went toe to toe with that's pretty good. We had chances to win the game but that's not good enough around here." Will Willems is the Sports Editor of the Lebanon Reporter. Follow him on Twitter @Will_Willems.