Western Boone Jr. - Sr. High School

Western Boone knew the challenge that awaited them in the sectional opener on Friday night against North Putnam. While they won the regular-season meeting 41-26, the game was tied heading to the fourth quarter before Western Boone was able to pull away. In the end, the Stars got the close game they were expecting, but made enough plays to win 49-42 and advance to the sectional semifinal. "We played offensively," Western Boone head coach Justin Pelley said. "We are going to have to figure out some of the defensive things if we want to continue to move on in the tournament, but we made enough plays to advance." North Putnam scored on the opening possession to go up 7-0, before Western Boone came back with a short touchdown run from Jake Smith to tie the game. It then looked like Western Boone had grabbed control of the game. The Stars' defense forced a fumble, leading to a 29-yard touchdown run by Dylan Sheets. Then North Putnam failed to convert a fourth down deep in their territory, and Brennan Kopriva connected with Julian McClaine for a 20-yard score to make it 21-7. "We need those guys to continue to step up and make plays," Pelley said. "Teams are going to try and stop Jake, and he still ran for 237 yards, but teams are keying on him. So having Sheets step up, and getting big catches from McClaine and Beau (Sawyer), that's huge for us. Kopriva is playing really well too, managing the game, spreading the ball and making good decisions." But just when it seemed like WeBo had control, the Cougars came back. After scoring to make it 21-14, the Cougars got an onside kick. On a third-and-long, quarterback Christian Kramer was able to keep a play alive and connect with his running back on a broken play to tie the game. WeBo immediately responded with a 70-yard touchdown to Beau Sawyer, but right before the half, North Putnam scored again on a desperation heave that appeared to hit the ground but was ruled a touchdown. "They got out of a lot of bad situations," Pelley said. "(Kramer) is a special kid and he's a great high school quarterback. He carried it 40 times, threw it 30 and he's pretty good and put us in a bind because you can sell out for the run or the pass. We knew we had to try and stop him, but that is easier said then done." Western Boone responded well coming out in the second half, marching down the field and scoring on a 5-yard run by Sheets (56 yards rushing). The Cougars tied it at 35, then it was time for Smith to take over. He scored from six yards out to make it 42-35 with 2:45 to go in the third, and then after the WeBo defense stuffed North Putnam on a fourth down, Smith went 60 yards for a score with 8:57 to go to put the Stars up 14. Smith finished with 237 yards and three scores. "It was a tie ball game late, just like the last time we played them," Pelley said. "Jake was able to get loose and make plays like he does. It was a good high school football game and it was important for us to keep the foot on the gas on offense." Kopriva threw for 144 yards and two scores, and added 17 yards rushing, picking up a couple of big first downs on the Stars' final drive to kill the clock. The Stars now host Southmont in the sectional semifinal. The Mounties won the regular season match-up 26-23. "We have to be able to throw the ball a little bit," Pelley said. "We weren't able to spread the ball the way we wanted to in the first game. They know what we do, they run a similar offense. They are bigger than us, so we have to spread the ball out and get them running side to side a little but. We have to have our guys step up and make some plays on the outside." Will Willems is the Sports Editor of the Lebanon Reporter. Follow him on Twitter @Will_Willems.