Western Boone Jr. - Sr. High School

DOVER – Western Boone football has been on impressive run of football in the past five seasons, but they have had a constant thorn in their sides. The Western Panthers. Western was the only team to beat the Stars during their first two seasons of their three-straight state championship run, and they added two more victories in 2020 and 2021. Friday night the Class 3A No. 5 rated Stars were able to turn the tables after three straight losses to the Panthers with a 44-22 victory. “We lost a one-point game, a 10-point game, and a two-point game to these guys so they are a tough match-up for us,” said Western Boone coach Justin Pelley. “They are a tough match-up for us size-wise. The difference this year is we played fast in the second half and were able to turn it on.” Both teams were dominant offensively in the first half, especially on the ground. Western Boone (2-0) wasted little time in getting on the board as Ryan Taylor took the opening kickoff past midfield and Rowen Durbin scooted 42 yards down the left sideline on a QB keeper on the first play from scrimmage. Trevor Weakley run in the two-point conversion to make it 8-0 Stars just 18 seconds in. The Panthers (0-2) were able to then put together a 16 play drive, but turned it over on downs at the Western Boone 11. The Stars then lost a fumble at the Panther 42, and Western took full advantage. The Panthers put together an 8 play 58-yard drive capped by a five-yard run from Deaglan Pleak. The two-point attempt was no good, and Western Boone led 8-6 after a quarter. The second quarter saw each team take advantage of big plays to set up a pair of touchdowns each. A 60-yard run from Weakley set up a second score from Durbin, and Durbin found Jaxon Gott for the deuce to make it 16-6. Just six plays later the Panthers were in the end zone on a 38 yard from Kyler Norman. Knepley would rush in the two-point conversion to make it 16-14. Western Boone then marched right back down the field, needing just six plays to go 62 yards with Durbin scoring for a third time on a 2-yard keeper. The two-point conversion failed, and Western was able to tie with two minutes left in the first half when Knepley scored on a 9-yard run, then he found Ian Beatty for the deuce to make it 22-22 at the half. “They run the flex bone and its option, so that means it is assignment football,” said Western coach Alex Stewart. “There are some times you make a bad read and all of a sudden the dive back is through or the quarterback is through. Then, people get frustrated and one guy overplays, leading to a big play.” The Stars were able to get a defensive stop to start the second half, then they went 64 yards in nine plays capped by a 13-yard score from Weakley, but the 2-point attempt was no good, making it 28-22. The Stars then gained some separation by getting a three-and-out before Durbin got his fourth touchdown on a 37-yard scamper. He also ran in the two-point try to make it 36-22. The Stars defense then stood tall the rest of the night. They forced three consecutive turnovers on downs and despite a fumble, they were able to add another touchdown from Ethan Bayles and a two-point conversion for the final margin. “I think the big thing is we only have one or two secondary guys playing both ways and they had six or seven linemen, linebackers, and secondary going both ways, so I think we wore them down a bit,” said Pelley. “That was the difference in the second half. We didn’t change a whole lot. We wore them down a bit and they have worn us down in the past. The Western Boone offense had a fantastic night, as Weakley ran for 199 yards and a TD with a pair of two point conversion runs. Durbin rushed for 107 yards and four touchdowns, while Bayles had 75 yards and a score on just five carries. All told, the Stars never had to punt, but they did finish with three turnovers. Western Boone opens Sagamore Conference play at Crawfordsville (2-0) next week. Will Willems is the Sports Editor of the Lebanon Reporter. Follow him on Twitter @Will_Willems.