Western Boone Jr. - Sr. High School

DOVER - There wasn't a special halftime speech from Western Boone head coach Justin Pelley after he saw his team's 21-point first half lead against North Montgomery cut to 7 heading into the locker room He just wanted his team to play their game. The team responded, scoring on every real drive they had in the second half en route to a 56-14 win over the visiting Chargers. "We just needed to play our brand of football," Pelley said. "We felt like we really stopped ourselves. They had one big play over the top - and (Kelby) Harwood is a good player, maybe the best all-around player on the field - but then we gave them a short field with a fumble." WeBo scored on its opening three drives, scoring on touchdown passes of 6 and 50 yards from Brandon Potter to Marcus Fortner, then a 3-yard run from Mason Amich. But the Chargers got on the board with a long touchdown pass to Harwood, and after Western Boone fumbled on the ensuing drive, the Chargers punched it to make it 21-14. "It's about coming out and playing with an edge," Pelley said. "That's the game of football. We started out hot tonight, then shot ourselves in the foot a bit and that's the game of football too. We have to be able to overcome that." Things got a little interesting with the second half kick-off, when Western Boone muffed a squib kick that gave the ball back to North Montgomery with a chance to tie, but then the Stars took over. WeBo forced a turnover on downs, and needed just four Amich runs to cover 57 yards to score. The Chargers turned it over on downs again on the ensuing drive, and this time Western Boone needed just three plays and a Charger penalty to cover 60 yards and scoring on a 32-yard Amich scamper. freestar The running back had 16 carries for 171 yards and three scores. "We were 9 of 13 throwing the ball in the first half and only had 11 rushes because they were stacking the box and making us throw it," Pelley said. "For Potter to be 9 of 13 - we threw it well. The plan was to wear them down in the second half. We have a one-way guys, they have guys going two ways, and I think that helped." Jacob Smith had an unusual sequence late in the third quarter to help put the game away for good. After a Charger punt gave WeBo a short field, Smith scored on an 11-yard run to make it 42-14. On the next play from scrimmage, the Chargers fumbled and Smith recovered for a touchdown, giving him touchdowns on consecutive plays on different sides of the ball. Luke Shirley added his first career touchdown in the fourth quarter. Potter was 9 of 13 for 142 yards and two scores. Fortner had five catches for 97 yards. Western Boone, now 5-0 for the first time since 2018, head to Frankfort on Friday night. "The name of the game is complacency and that's my biggest fear, because it's week to week because that target is on your back all the time," Pelley said. "That's a good thing for a program, because it means you've had success, but as soon as you let your guard down, you don't know what's going to happen." Will Willems is the Sports Editor of the Lebanon Reporter. Follow him on Twitter @Will_Willems.