Western Boone Jr. - Sr. High School

DOVER - The Western Boone football team knew that Southmont was going to have a good game plan for them when they met on Friday night in a key Sagamore Conference match-up. So when the Mounties did a good job of slowing down some of WeBo's strength, they had to find other ways to take control. And the Stars did just that. WeBo got big plays from all three phases, and handed Southmont its first loss in a 38-7 homecoming win. With the Stars' win Friday night, along with wins by Tri-West and Lebanon, there is a four-way tie atop the Sagamore Conference with two games to go. "They made us bring our best and we had to do some different stuff," Western Boone head coach Justin Pelley said. "We are getting better at throwing the ball and getting the ball outside. (Southmont) has some really good players and they are well coached, and they bottled us up a little bit on what we do well - which is what good teams will do." It was WeBo's special teams that set the tone for the game midway through the first quarter. Forced to punt, senior Josiah Smith pinned Southmont on their one-inch line. Three plays later Southmont fumbled and it was recovered by the Stars' Luke Jackson, setting up a 1-yard Trevor Weakley touchdown. Smith later added a 39-yard field goal, and had five kickoffs end up as touchbacks. "He makes a world of difference for us," Pelley said. "He is a special kid and a smart kid. You talk about having a coach on the sideline or coach on the field, that's him. He battled some injuries early on, but his mind is in a good spot right now and he's kicking it really well. It changes the whole game when teams are getting the ball on their 20, and not the 37." Western Boone made it 17-0 right before the half, getting an 11-yard pass from Rowen Durbin to Blake Miller. After forcing a punt on the opening drive of the second half, WeBo marched down the field, going 63 yards in nine plays, scoring on a 5-yard run from Ethan Bayles. On their next drive, WeBo struck again, with Weakley running it in from 24 yards out to make it 31-0. Weakley had another strong run, running for 121 yards on 27 carries. Bayles rushed for 47 yards and Ryan Taylor had 23 on three carries. Pelley said that Southmont did a good job of containing Weakley as best they could, and is happy with the way some of the rest of the offense is coming along to take some of the load off Weakley's shoulders. "We have a lot of guys doing a lot of different things, and girls too - Emmy Roys got the start tonight and played a phenomenal game," Pelley said. "Being able to go to Ryan Taylor, Blake Miller and Ethan Bayles on the outside when they are trying to bottle Trevor up - with some new pieces in there - says a lot about our system I think." Southmont got on the board in the fourth quarter. After WeBo muffed a punt on their own 38, the Mounties took advantage of the short field to score on a 14-yard pass. It was the lone blemish on a stellar outing from the Stars' defense, which forced two turnovers and allowed less than 100 yards off offense to the Mounties. "It starts with our coaches, Travis Brunes and those guys," Pelley said. "He does a great job of getting guys lined up in the right spots. We had some guys out and were moving pieces around, and in Week 7, you have to be able to do that. They were great tonight." Durbin finished 11 of 20 for 87 yards. The Stars host Danville next Friday. The Warriors topped Frankfort 53-17 this Friday. Pelley said the Stars have to clean up some of the little things as they head into the final weeks of the regular season. "We just have to continue to get better," Pelley said. "We do some really good things, but we dropped a punt today and that leads to their touchdown and those are the things we have to clean up. There is always something to work on and get better at." Will Willems is the Sports Editor of the Lebanon Reporter. Follow him on Twitter @Will_Willems.