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Second-half surge holds Durant scoreless
by Gregory R. Norfleet · Sports · October 09, 2014
West Branch tied two school records and whipped up a near-record-breaking 558 yards to roll over Durant 53-13 on Friday night.
Junior wide out Matt Shawver caught seven passes for a 155 yards, tying a record set by Tyler Donovan last year against Sigourney-Keota.
And Luke Lenoch scored a 93-yard rushing touchdown, tying Cole Kelley’s 93-yard run in 2009. The team’s sports information director, Jason Miller, said that scrimmage-line play is the second-longest scoring run in school history behind Sid Thompson’s 99-yard kickoff return against Highland in 2011.
Durant kept the game close in the first half and mounted an effective offense — mostly with its passing game — against the visiting Bears, as well as blocking two extra points in a row and ending kicker Devin Kindon’s point-after-touchdown streak, which carried over from last season, at 46.
Yet West Branch turned off the Wildcat scoring spigot completely in the second half, using a series of big plays, scoring 27 unanswered points and prompting the continuous clock in the fourth quarter.
“You played a good game … and the offense was sharp all night,” Head Coach Butch Pedersen told the team in the post-game talk. “You played a nice game in the second half.”
Pedersen said the Bears caused their own momentum.
“We had more scoring opportunities, and when the ball starts rolling, things can snowball,” he said. “That’s what happened.”
Wildcat Head Coach Greg White said he liked what he saw out of his players in the first half.
“We came in and we showed that we’re not scared of anybody,” he said. “I think we’ve got some great athletes as well and these kids believe they can play with anybody.”
White said that West Branch “is a great team and they’ve got some great athletes.”
“That No. 32 (Lenoch) and No. 8 (Kindon) are very gifted,” he said.
Shawver’s record-matching reception yards included a short pass from second-team quarterback Hunter Wargo which Shawver zig-zagged into a 57-yard gain down to the Durant 5.
The wideout credited his linebackers with giving him the opportunity.
“I saw a lane,” he said.
Pedersen said it is “gratifying to see kids set school records and not really care.”
“Matt is a very team-oriented player and he doesn’t care who gets the glory,” the coach said. “Those kinds of kids really thrive in our program.”
There were actually two receivers with three-digit yardage that night. Running back Devin Kindon caught 8-for-8 passes and picked up 127 yards from receptions and one touchdown. Add to that 54 yards of rushing, and Kindon finished the night with 181 all-purpose yards. He also kicked three of five extra-points.
“It shows the diversification Devin Kindon has,” Pedersen said. “He can run, catch and kick and those are three important components. He, too, is unselfish … (and) puts winning first, personal records second.”
Pedersen said the same thing about Lenoch -- as he said about Shawver and Kindon -- and his 93-yard touchdown: “Luke’s not interested in stats … he wants to do what’s best for the team.”
Still, Pedersen said, the run was “great.”
“He cut right and took off with sprinter speed,” the head coach said. “It shows the amount of speed Luke has once he gets into open spaces.”
Lenoch said the offensive line opened up spaces for him.
“All I had to do was outrun secondary,” he said.
With Kindon picking up extra rushing duties, lead running back Luke Lenoch had a relatively light night — light for him, at least — rushing for 171 yards and four touchdowns. He averaged about 200 yards per game for the first five games of the season. That record-tying run made up more than half his yardage Friday night.
Quarterback Lucas Lamont threw for 234 yards and two touchdown passes, and rushed for another 24 yards.
The 558 yards of offense is the most yardage against a team this season and close to the school record of 569 against Regina in 1989.
“That’s a lot of yards,” Pedersen said. “We’re pleased with the development of our offense. They’re very potent, and it starts up front.”
Pedersen said the Bears gave the Wildcats one touchdown “completely” and they earned the other.
“We need to clean up special teams play,” he said. “They’ve been very good all year, but not on the extra-points in this game, and we were not pleased with the punt-return team. I’m sure (special teams coordinator) Terry Ruess will do a great job this week cleaning all that up.”
The Bears made some adjustments at halftime, Pedersen said, that helped with defensive “looks.”
“I thought that paid off and we did a great job,” he said.
Lenoch said West Branch may have “underestimated (Durant) a little bit.”
“We need to keep our heads on,” he said.
Shawver said that after beating Bellevue and North Cedar, “we thought we’d be coasting from there.”
“We need to stay on the gas pedal,” he said.
Lenoch said the coaches stress to “not let up” in every game.
“When we play our best, we can shut out anybody,” he said.
While White was complimentary of players on both teams, the Durant coach said he did not appreciate West Branch coaching decisions near the end of the game.
“Somewhere along the line it would be nice to write up that Butch keeps passing the ball when he’s got a 40-point lead,” he said. “That’s bad sportsmanship.”
White was referring to the Bears final drive which included three passing plays, the third of which scored a touchdown to give West Branch a 40-point lead.
“Everybody is entitled to their opinion,” Pedersen said in response.
Pedersen said he appreciated the fans who came out in temperatures around the mid-40s.
“It’s easy not to go to games when the weather is not that good,” he said.
Wapello next
Pedersen strongly suggested that fans get in their seats by 6:45 p.m. Friday night when the Bears host the Wapello Indians.
“Weather permitting, we will have the best pregame entrance in the history of the school,” he said. “It will be really exciting.”
The game starts at 7 p.m.
Wapello likes to pass the ball and has done so almost twice as much as West Branch. However, the Indians are struggling this season with a 1-5 record overall.
Highlights
The home team opened with an onside kick, which West Branch recovered about midfield. Lenoch opened with a couple quick runs for nine yards before Shawver caught a pass for another 10 yards. Kindon broke away for a 19-yard gainer then got another six yards. Just four yards away from the end zone, Lenoch finished the drive on a run to put the first points on the board at the 9:20 mark. Kindon followed with an extra-point kick and West Branch led 7-0.
On the resulting kickoff, Kindon put it into the end zone for a touchback.
Durant opened with a pass to Conrad Hoover for six yards, then mixed in running and passing, working their way at a relatively steady pace before stalling near midfield. It appeared the Wildcats would punt when faced with a fourth-and-10, but kicker/quarterback William Bentley paused and launched a 25-yard pass to Brandon Dykes.
Returning to the pass-run tactic, Durant plugged away until reaching the West Branch 7. Bentley called his own number and carried it in for the first Wildcat points of the night. A bad snap switched a kicking attempt to a pass play, but the pass fell incomplete and West Branch led by 1, 7-6.
Durant tried another onside kick, but West Branch still recovered it on the Bears 44. Lenoch and Kindon handled rushing duties to the Durant 40 when quarterback Lucas Lamont hit Shawver with a 20-yard pass to get to the Wildcat 10. Opening the second quarter, Lenoch took it the handoff to carry it the rest of the way. Another Kindon kick and West Branch widened its lead to 14-6.
The Wildcats went three-and-out and punted the ball to the West Branch 9.
The Bears immediately went to the pass, with Lamont hitting Lenoch for a 38-yard pickup on the first play. Lenoch moved the ball seven yards, then Lamont found Kindon for a 28-yard pass. After a short loss, Lamont hit Shawver for a 15-yard touchdown pass. The Wildcats blocked the extra-point attempt but the Bears now led 20-6 with 8:01 left to the half.
Durant again went three-and-out and punted the ball to the West Branch 17. Kindon, Lenoch, Lamont and Shawver mixed running and passing to move the ball steadily downfield, but stalled and gave the ball up on downs at the Durant 46.
The Wildcats started a 54-yard march back the other way, relying heavily on the pass since only about 2 minutes remained to the half. Gavin Blake, Brandon Dykes and Alik Lorenz, with help from a couple of time-outs, got the ball to the West Branch 16. Bentley threw the ball to Blake in the endzone and doubled its score. The extra-point kick by Nathan Paulsen was good and Durant narrowed the lead to 20-13 with just under a minute remaining to the half.
West Branch’s next drive started 65 yards away from the end zone with 53.1 seconds on the clock. Lamont threw an 8-yard pass to Kindon that he turned into 38 yards with bobbing and weaving through Wildcat defenders before one took him down at the Durant 27. Lamont followed up with a pass to Sam Aspelmeier for another nine-yard gain. West Branch called time-out with 26.7 seconds only 18 yards left to go.
A third-and-one pass to Kindon got slowed down by tacklers, but he managed to shake them enough to reach the 7. Lamont carried the ball in on the next play, but Durant again blocked the extra-point. West Branch led 26-13 at the break.
West Branch kicked off to open the third quarter and Durant went three-and-out, but Bears lineman Jacob Giese broke through and blocked the punt. West Branch took over at the Durant 24.
Lenoch needed two plays, breaking several tackles, to get the touchdown. Lamont connected with Mason Hays for a two-point conversion and West Branch led 34-13 less than a minute after regaining the ball.
Durant started the next drive on their own 41, moving the ball with the help of Dykes and Lorenz and a mix of running and passing. With the ball on the West Branch 8, the Bears managed a goal-line stand that only allowed three net yards before the Wildcats ran out of downs.
On the second play of the return drive, at the Bears 7, Lamont handed the ball off to Lenoch, who ran into the gap created by the West Branch line, hurdled over a downed defender and bounced off a couple tacklers on his way to the Bears 30. After that, Lenoch had no one between him and the end zone, but three Wildcats were seven yards or less behind him, with 70 yards to catch up, and a fourth was running level with him, on his left, angling to push him out of bounds. The closest Durant tackler lunged at Lenoch at about the Wildcat 40, but, at most, could only touch his cleats. The remaining tacklers drew within two or three yards, but never caught him as he crossed into the end zone. The sophomore’s 93-yard run tied the record set in 2009.
The extra-point passing attempt was no good, but the Bears now had a 27-point lead, 40-13, with 5:50 left in the third quarter.
Durant’s return drive moved the ball from their 20 to midfield, but a holding penalty pushed the home team back to the 35. They tried to convert, but West Branch lineman Jon St. John sacked Bentley on the 27.
Kindon got the return drive started quickly with an 18-yard, tackle-breaking run until he reached the Durant 9. Lamont and Kindon plugged away at a stiff defense until Lamont ran in from two yards away. Another passing play did not succeed for the extra points, but West Branch now led 46-13 just inside the fourth quarter.
On the return drive, Durant managed 15 yards and again failed to convert, giving the ball back on downs from their own 43. West Branch moved back two yards and failed to convert as well.
With 7:03 remaining, Durant started on their own 41 and picked up four yards before benefitting from a 15-yard personal foul against West Branch. On their second passing attempt from the Bears 29, Bentley lofted one into the end zone but West Branch’s Shawver yanked it down for the interception, setting the ball back on the West Branch 20.
West Branch sent in several secondary players at quarterback and on the line for the return drive. Quarterback Hunter Wargo and Kindon ran the ball up to the Bear 36, then Wargo hit Shawver with a short pass. Durant had expected passing plays and had tacklers spread out in the backfield, so Shawver turned and zig-zagged between them, like on a giant pinball machine, until being pulled down on the Durant 5 for a 57-yard pickup.
Durant’s defense managed to use the next three drives to push West Branch back to the 15, and the Bears looked like they were setting up for a field goal attempt. But a delay-of-game penalty pushed West Branch back to the 20, and the Bears opted to put Lamont back in. Fourth down and 20 yards to go, Lamont found Kindon in at about the three-yard line and Kindon ran it in from there.
Kindon’s extra-point kick went in, and West Branch led 51-13 with 1:26 left to the game. With the Bears up by 40 points, the “continuous clock” would begin after the kickoff. On the second play on the return, Durant fumbled the ball and West Branch’s Darryl Rice landed on it. With only 31.1 seconds remaining, the clock ran out to end the game.
West Branch 53, Durant 13
Scoring
West Branch 7 19 14 13 53
Durant 6 7 0 0 13
First quarter
WB: Luke Lenoch 4 run, Devin Kindon kick; 9:20
D: William Bentley 7 run; 2-pt pass fails; 2:27
Second quarter
WB: Lenoch 10 run; Kindon kick; 11:54
WB: Lucas Lamont 15-yard pass to Matt Shawver, kick fails; 8:01
D: Bentley 16-yard pass to Gavin Blake, Nathan Paulsen kick; 59.1 seconds
WB: Lamont 6 run, kick fails; 2.3 seconds
Third quarter
WB: Lenoch 21 run, Lamont pass to Mason Hays; 9:52
WB: Lenoch 93 run, pass fails; 4:58
Fourth quarter
WB: Lamont 2 run, pass fails; 11:14
WB: Lamont 20-yard pass to Kindon, Kindon kick; 1:26
WB Durant
First downs 23 17
Rush-pass-penalty 13-10-0 5-10-2
Rushing yards 261 34
Passing: Comp-Att 16-21 20-34
Passing yards 279 217
Passing: TD-INT 2-0 1-1
Total plays 53 57
Offensive yards 558 251
Fumbles-lost 0-0 2-1
Penalties-yards 4-36 2-25
Def sacks-yards lost 1-3 2-12
Time of possession 27:47 20:13
3rd down efficiency 4 of 8 4 of 12
4th down efficiency 2 of 4 2 of 5
Punts-ave yards 0-0 3-36.33
Passing — Lucas Lamont 15-234, 2 TD; Hunter Wargo 1-57
Rushing — Devin Kindon 11-54; Lucas Lamont 4-24, 2 TDs; Hunter Wargo 3-12; Luke Lenoch 13-171, 4 TDs
Receiving — Devin Kindon 8-127, 1 TD; Sam Aspelmeier 1-9; Matt Shawver 7-155, 1 TD
Tackles (solos-assists-sacks) — Mason Hays 0-3-0; Devin Kindon 3-4-0; Sam Aspelmeier 0-3-0; Hunter Wargo 2-5-0; Matt Shawver 2-5-0; Jacob Schreiber 1-2-0; Travis Wolf 1-1-0; Cooper Kabela 0-1-0; Luke Lenoch 1-1-0; Cole Lacina 1-3-0; Nick Westcott 3-6-0; Drew Finnegan 3-6-0; Matt McIlrath 6-3-0; Jacob Giese 2-5-0; Ryan Grosvenor 0-1-0; Tony Rocha 0-1-0; Jon St. John 2-1-1
Kick returns: Matt Shawver 1-14; Darryl Rice 1-0
Kickoffs: Devin Kindon 9-417
PATs: Devin Kindon 3-5
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