Western Boone Jr. - Sr. High School

DOVER - Western Boone knows with their depth, that they can have an advantage over a lot of teams in the second half. That was on full display on Friday night against North Montgomery. After a defensive struggle in the first half, WeBo was able to dominate the second en route to a 35-8 win over the Chargers. "They have several really good players, and they always scheme us really well," Western Boone head coach Justin Pelley said. "Coach Thompson does a great job. We don't have a lot of guys going two ways, and we are able to wear teams down a little bit in the second half." After neither team scored on their first few drives, Western Boone took the lead midway through the second quarter. Trevor Weakley capped an 86-yard drive with a 5-yard run, giving the Stars a 7-0 lead. The Chargers responded with their best drive of the game, going 80 yards and scoring on a 12-yard touchdown pass. They then scored on a two-point conversion to take an 8-7 lead with 1:09 to go in the half, but their momentum didn't last long. On the ensuing kickoff, Ryan Taylor scored on an 80-yard return, giving WeBo a 14-8 lead heading into the half. "That was huge," Pelley said. "They got us early on special teams, recovering an onside kick on the opening kickoff, so we got that back. That gave us some good momentum, going up 14-8 at the half." The Stars carried that momentum coming out of the break. After forcing a punt, the Stars drove deep into Charger territory, but fumbled going in to score. But the defense got the ball right back, and went 53 yards in nine plays, scoring a 7-yard Rowen Durbin run. WeBo's Cannon Brunes recovered a fumble on the North Montgomery 7 on the ensuing drive, and the Stars took advantage of the short field, scoring a pass from Durbin to Blake Miller. Western Boone's defense was strong all night. "We flew around tonight," Pelley said. "I think our scheme was a little simpler for the kids and made them throw it around. Their quarterback does some good things, but overall we made it tough on them." Western Boone capped the scoring with an 8-yard Taylor run in the fourth quarter. "We didn't change anything offensively, but sometimes it can wear teams down when you get them with the same thing," Pelley said. "We just kept doing what we do." Ethan Bayles had 100 yards of total offense in the game, making big plays in both the running and passing game. Weakley led the Stars with a 133 yards rushing in the game. He has been over 100 yards in every game this year. He also played defense tonight for the first time this season, and made an impact there. "He is so consistent," Pelley said. "You know where is going to be on every play. He is always in the right spot. We called a play wrong tonight, and he corrected it for us in the huddle. He had only practiced defense three days all year, and played the entire second half. He is just so versatile for us." The Stars head to Frankfort next week to face the Hot Dogs. Pelley said the Stars have to clean some things up heading into the second half of the year. "We need to play four quarters," Pelley said. "We give up a onside kick early tonight, and just like last week we are digging a hole. We have to take care of the football, eliminate some of the silly penalties and we have to limit those if we are going to win big games down the road." Article and Photo compliments of Will Willems of the Lebanon Reporter