Western Boone Jr. - Sr. High School

DOVER - For most of the year, Western Boone has been searching for a way to get back to their brand of football. On Friday night in a heavy downpour against their rivals, they found it. Western Boone overcame a 14-point second half deficit, topping Lebanon 27-21 in overtime when senior Philip Talbott ran in a touchdown from two yards out. "We played WeBo football tonight," head coach Justin Pelley said. "It's been a while. We have been searching for it all season, but we finally played WeBo football. We made some mistakes, but our kids hung in there." Tied at 21 after regulation, Lebanon got the ball first to start overtime. After two plays didn't gain a yard, Lebanon was called for a delay of game prior to third down. Jackson Folden had a run down to the 4 yard line, and head coach Jeff Smock elected to go for it rather than go for a go-ahead field goal. Folden lost control of the ball on fourth down before he could get a pass off, giving the Stars a chance to go ahead. "Jackson did a great job of getting us to a fourth an manageable there, and the ball just slipped out of his hands there," Smock said. "Kudos to them, they had some decent pressure there and forced him out of the pocket, and they did a good job. We were thinking that we needed a touchdown there, and in that situation, we didn't even think about a field goal. On WeBo's possession, runs by Jacob Smith and Mason Tomes got Western Boone down to the 2 yard line, where Talbott scored on a toss sweep to end the game. The win was the 100th in the career of head coach Justin Pelley in his 11th year in charge of the Stars. Western Boone has won four conference titles, four sectional titles and won three-straight state titles from 2018-2020 in his tenure. "It's really special, but it's not about me," Pelley said. "It's our coaching staff, it's our kids, our community, it's everybody. I can't do it be myself, just like our kids can't play by themselves." The overtime came after a hectic fourth quarter that saw highs and lows for both teams. Western Boone got the ball on its own 22 yard line with 6:00 remaining, down 21-14. Smith had a 25 yard run to get the drive started, and twice Western Boone had big plays wiped out by penalty. But the team preserved, ultimately scoring on a 6-yard run by Smith with 1:44 remaining to tie the game. On the ensuing drive, it looked like Lebanon was going to come up with the big play and the win, when Folden (8 of 16, 170 yards) hit Kaden Lark for a 90-yard touchdown on a wide receiver screen, but the play was wiped out by a penalty. Western Boone had one more chance at a final scoring drive before overtime, but failed to get a first down. "It shows the character of our team," Pelley said. "We had some breaks, and they had some breaks too in the first half. Our kids played their hearts out, and so did theirs - it was a heck of a football game." Lebanon took advantage of some Western Boone miscues to build up a 21-7 lead. Western Boone fumbled on their opening drive, and a few plays later Brendan Shockley ran it in to give the Tigers a 7-0 lead. Smith (27 carries, 170 yards) scored from 10 yards out early in the second quarter to make it 7-7, but less than two minutes later Lebanon reclaimed the lead on a 65-yard touchdown pass from Folden to Lark. WeBo punted on its next drive, and the Tigers marched down the field to go up 21-7 on a 27-yard run from Shockley. Shockley finished the game with 20 carries for 95 yards. Lebanon forced a WeBo fumble a few plays later, but chose to run out the clock to head into the half up 14. They then got the ball to start the third quarter, but the drive stalled at the WeBo 25. A few plays later Talbott scored from 63 yards out to bring the Stars within a score. "We needed to get a score on that first drive of the half," Smock said. "We talk a lot about not letting the other team create momentum, and we just didn't do a very good job of taking their life away." Lebanon finished the regular season 4-5, and will host Crispus Attucks in the opening round of the sectional next Friday. "The good thing for this group is that we are battle tested," Smock said. "We lost three games in conference, but they were all tight games. We just have to find a way to finish. This one stings, but as of 10:30 tomorrow morning, we have to wipe it. If we are the team I think we are, we will come in focused next week and get ready for what's really important and that's the sectional." Brandon Potter was 8 of 12 for 74 yards for the Stars. Talbott had 90 yards of total offense. Western Boone finishes the regular season 6-3. They head to North Montgomery to face the Chargers. "The season starts now," Pelley said. "This was a great win and we will enjoy it tonight, but it's back to work tomorrow." Will Willems is the Sports Editor of the Lebanon Reporter. Follow him on Twitter @Will_Willems.