The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
Perennial gridiron powerhouse Carthage made short work of host West Prairie-La Harpe in the 2005 season-opener for both football squads.
The Blueboys combined their relentless ground attack with Cyclone turnovers to race out to a 28-6 first quarter lead on their way to a convincing 54-20 victory.
The Cyclones did manage to put three scores on the board vs. the I.H.S.A. Class 2 A's #2 ranked team.
Cyclone junior Brian Butterfield ran for one score (10 yards) and threw for a second TD on a halfback pass to senior tight end Randy Bray. The other TD came on an 11 yard run by senior signal caller Kevin Mershon.
Junior halfback Matt Woolam rounded out the WP-LH scoring with a 2 point conversion run following Butterfield's TD toss.
West Prairie-La Harpe managed to pick up 262 total yards, while giving up 494 yards (all on the ground) to Carthage.
The Cyclone total included 256 yards on the ground on only 31 carries. Cyclone turnovers (three total) and Carthage's huge advantage in time of possession-really limited WP-LH offensive opportunities.
Junior halfback Joel DeCounter led the Cyclone ground attack with 106 yards and only 8 carries.
Senior fullback Eric Swank added another 79 yards on10 attempts.
Mershon picked up 35 yards, while Butterfield and DeCounter added 18 yards each.