Western Boone Jr. - Sr. High School

LEBANON - Watching them come through the system, Western Boone head coach Justin Pelley knew this year's senior class had the potential to be something special. So it was fitting on Friday night, with a share of the Sagamore Conference title at stake, that those seniors rose to the occasion once again in a big game. Behind a strong running attack and some solid defense, the Stars (8-1, 6-1 in Sagamore) topped rival Lebanon 30-14 and won a share of the Sagamore Conference title. "That sounds pretty good right now," Pelley said. "We had a couple of long drives and marched down the field, and the kids played really well. This game wasn't won tonight. When they were in junior high, we knew they were something special. There are 20 of them that stuck together and worked their tails off. It's neat to see kids succeed when they put the time in." The loss for Lebanon denied the Tigers the conference title for the first time since 2006. Lebanon head coach Jeff Smock said the Tigers didn't play with the same disciplined that had been a staple of theirs during a five-game winning streak. "We didn't play very defensively and gave up a couple of big plays that really hurt us," Smock said. "We weren't minding our keys and credit to them - they did exactly what they wanted to do. They took advantage of the fact that we weren't very disciplined tonight. That was probably the most undisciplined game that I've ever coached and that's on me. But you aren't going to have a shot in a game like this with as many penalties as we had. Kudos to them, they are a really good football team." The game turned completely in WeBo's favor late in the second half. The Stars led 10-6, when Lebanon punted on fourth-and-5 from the WeBo 40. Landon Fouts pinned the Stars at their own 1 yard line, and it looked like momentum was on the Tigers' side. But that changed quickly. The Stars went on an 12-play drive, covering all 99 yards and scoring on a 3-yard run by Trevor Weakley. "That's what we do," Pelley said. "We had a 99 yard drive, an 80-yard drive, a 20-play drive - and those can be demoralizing to the other team when we can keep them on the field defensively. We aren't flashy, but the end of the half was really good for us." Things got worse for the Tigers. On the ensuing kick-off, the Tigers fumbled and WeBo recovered on the Tiger 33. Five plays later, the Stars were on the Tiger 20 with less than 10 seconds remaining, and called a double-reverse flea flicker that worked to perfection with Rowen Durbin connecting with Ryan Taylor for the touchdown and a 23-6 halftime lead. "We had nothing to lose there," Pelley said. "It's all about when you dial it up and it ended up working out for us. That was the biggest difference in the game. When we score twice in the last two minutes, and the last one with 1.3 seconds left, that is pretty special. It would have been easy for us to not score there and it would have been one score game going into the half." Smock said instances like the end of the half are what Western Boone is really good at. When you give them the opportunity, they can make you pay. "They prey on you when you make mistakes, and they prey on you aren't disciplined defensively," Smock said. "That was the story of the game for us tonight, no question about it." Each team punted on their opening drive of the second half. WeBo punt the game away with an 19-play, 80-yard drive, scoring to make it 30-6 on an 11-yard run by Weakley. The senior had 181 yards rushing and three touchdowns in the game. "He is one of our captains for a reason," Pelley said. "He is a very smart kid and is an outstanding high school running back. He understands the game and he understands that we are trying to get three yards every play, not 50. He's got the mind and strength to get those three yards behind our line. He is a pretty special high school player." Lebanon got within two scores when Landon Fouts connected with Kaden Lark for an 11-yard score. Fouts was 9 of 18 for 97 yards. Lark had five catches for 43 yards. "We knew he was going to get his, it was just could we limit him enough," Pelley said. "We were able to slow him down enough tonight." Durbin was 5 of 7 for 59 yards. The Stars, who have won five in a row heading into the sectional, travel to Crawfordsville next Friday night. Lebanon, who drops to 6-3 on the year, travels to Mooresville. "We have to move on to Mooresville," Smock said. "We have to learn from tonight heading into next week, but I'm not sure how much film we have to watch to talk about penalties. The quicker we can wipe tonight from our brains, the better off we will be next week to give ourselves a shot next week." Will Willems is the Sports Editor of the Lebanon Reporter. Follow him on Twitter @Will_Willems.