The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
The West Prairie-La Harpe Cyclones upped their record to 4-0 on the 2003 season by traveling to Mount Sterling Friday night and posting a convincing 49-14 win over the host Brown County Hornets. The Cyclones now sit in a tie atop the West Central Conference football standings with the also unbeaten Carthage Blueboys.
The Cyclones scored early and often in their encounter with the Hornets. They posted 28 in the first quarter and tacked on another 21 in the second period on their way to a 49-7 edge at intermission. Brown County scored once in the third quarter to set the final margin.
Christopher Link, Chase DeCounter, and Brett Pendell each scored a pair of rushing touchdowns, while senior teammate Stephen Butterfield capped the point parade with a 62-yard punt return late in the first half. The Cyclones scored on their first seven possessions in securing the lopsided victory.
WP-LH picked up 370 yards of total offense, with 320 yards coming on the ground. DeCounter led the rushing attack with 120 yards on 10 carries. Butterfield added 91 yards, while Link picked up 61. Also adding to the rushing total were Pendell (20 yards), Robbie Moon (20 yards), Brittain Daudelin (8 yards) and Eric Swank (4 yards).
DeCounter added 50 yards passing on the night, completing 2 of 6 attempts. Butterfield grabbed one toss of 20 yards, while senior tight end Isaac Rogers hauled in a 30-yard reception.
Defensively, the Cyclones gave up 242 yards to the host Hornets. The defense continues to give up too many big plays, as Brown County had two 60+ yard touchdown runs. Thus, more than half their offensive total came on 2 plays. WP-LH needs to find a way to remedy this situation before it really hurts them later in the season.
Leading the way on the Cyclone tackle chart this week was senior defensive tackle Ty Huston with 9 stops, including a pair for loss. Justin Mohr, Ben Cox, Eric Magee, Christopher Link, Robbie Moon, Stephen Butterfield, Chase DeCounter, Brett Pendell and Jason Poulter all had between 3 and 7 tackles. Poulter and DeCounter each intercepted passes as well, while Jacob Bice and Eric Swank recovered Hornet fumbles.
Scoring Summary
1st Qtr. (10:23) 14 yd. run by Christopher Link (Matt Wollam kick good)
1st Qtr. (7:30) 2 yd. run by Brett Pendell (Woolam kick good)
1st Qtr. (3:09) 5 yd. run by Chase DeCounter (kick failed)
1st Qtr. (1:10) 10 yd. run by DeCounter (Fumble recovery in endzone by Matt Swanson for 2 pt. conv.)
2nd Qtr. (8:31) 4 yd. run by Pendell (Woolam kick good)
2nd Qtr. (4:54) 2 yd. run by Link (Woolam kick good)
2nd Qtr. (3:05) 62 yd. punt return by Stephen Butterfield (Woolam kick good)